Highschool DxD: Rise of the Solar God (Finale Redone)
by Azu Dazu
Summary: Rewrite of the finale of ROSG
1. Chapter 1

**Kuoh Academy - Azazel's Laboratory**

"Azazel-san? Do you think Dohna-chin made it to Mo

"Ah, you're awake." Azazel commented, earning a blank look from the Shinto Goddess, "And no, nothing's wrong. Asia was just worrying whether or not Dohnaseek made it to Mount Kailash."

"..." Izanami looked over to the worried girl, "I see."

"So, did you have a good sleep?" The Fallen Angel casually asked.

"It was more or less a nap, Fallen Angel Azazel." Izanami replied dryly, rubbing her eyes, "And yet I still feel deprived of rest."

"Still tired, huh? What woke you up?" Azazel asked.

"...I sensed something." Izanami replied, hesitance in her voice, "A presence I've not felt since...the creation of Japan."

"Feel like I've heard a variation of that quote before." Azazel mused to himself before he continued, "In any case, I certainly didn't feel anything out of the ordinary. The strength of that presence was enough to wake you up? You have any idea of whom the energy belongs to?"

"..." Izanami merely stood where she was, her expression showing a far away look.

'It can't be...Kami-musu-'

Ring ring!

All three of the occupants reacted to the sound coming from Azazel's pocket. His curiosity piqued, the Fallen Angel reached into his pocket to take out his phone, and put it to his ear.

"Y'ello." Azazel greeted, earning a look of bemusement from Izanami, "Ah, Dohnaseek, we were just talking about you. About time you called back. What took you so long?"

Before Dohnaseek could retort, his response was cut off as Asia snatched the phone away from Azazel.

"Dohna-chin, I was so worried! Did you make it to Mount Kailash? Did you give the Phoenix Tears to the solar deities? Is the Sun back?"

Azazel held back a chuckle as Asia continued to spout out more and more questions to the absent Fallen Angel. No doubt Dohnaseek was trying his damnedest to keep his composure on the other side of the conversation.

Izanami only stared quietly at the human girl and her antics. She then blinked and looked towards the covered window in an abrupt manner.

"Oh so you did make it?" Asia asked, waiting for Dohnaseek to answer her, "That's great! So where are you now? You're back at Azazel-san's mansion? Ok, so do you know if the Sun came back?"

Azazel noticed Izanami's line of sight, and felt another bout of curiosity hit him.

"Hey." He said, getting the Shinto Goddess' attention, "You mind opening the blinds on the window shades?"

Without taking her eyes off the Fallen Angel, Izanami grabbed the blinds with one hand and promptly removed them from the window. Azazel pushed down the urge to reprimand her for damaging school property, and wisely kept his comment to himself.

The Fallen Angel then looked up and his eyes shot open upon seeing a light emanating from the sky. Asia followed the Fallen Angel's line of sight, and dropped the phone in shock.

"Huh." Azazel hummed before he adopted a smirk, "How about that? They actually did it."

Try as she might, not even Izanami could stop the persisting smile that threatened to curve her lips.

* * *

**The Ise Grand Shrine, Ise City, Honshū, Japan**

Much to Mitsuru's relief, Sachiko and Morisawa had taken his suggestion to heart. In just a couple of minutes, the three had proceeded to pray along with the inhabitants within the Ise Grand Shrine.

Mere minutes had passed, and yet the trio felt as though they had been in the shrine far longer than that. In the case for Sachiko, the Hyoudou matriarch had her hands clasped tightly, her thoughts surrounding her son poignant in the intensity of her prayers.

Unbeknownst to the people in the praying location, beams of light began to emanate from the dark clouds, the brightness shining through the shrine. The freezing atmosphere began to wane in temperature, with the return of the Sun bringing full warmth and heat to the vast ambiance of Earth.

Soon after, the heat from the air began to permeate into the shrine, gathering the attention of Mitsuru, Sachiko, Morisawa, and only a few of the citizens nearby. The manga reader of the trio looked around in shock, and lifted his hand to feel the atmosphere surrounding them. He then looked up at the sky, and his eyes widened.

"Holy shit, the Sun's back!"

"Morisawa!" Mitsuru chided the man for his language.

"Would you please quiet dow-" Sachiko added before she quickly cut herself off.

She...she could feel it. The familiar warmth that nearly every inhabitant of the Earth had felt for so long.

Sachiko followed Morisawa's line of sight and gasped in surprise, while Mitsuru did the same.

Indeed, Morisawa was correct. She could actually see the full view of the Sun. But something was different about it.

"It's so bright!" Mrs. Hyoudou exclaimed in awe, "Much brighter than before."

"Such a beautiful sight to behold." A low yet soothing voice commented.

The trio blinked from hearing the pleasant voice and turned to the direction of its source. Standing not too far away from them was a tall woman with very long, black violet hair tied into a ponytail, and soulless dark-red eyes. She was dressed in a slightly revealing white and red Japanese-style outfit.

'Where the hell did she come from?' Morisawa thought.

'H-has she been here the whole time?' Sachiko asked herself.

The woman tilted her head as her crimson eyes gleamed.

"What do you know?" She mused softly to herself, "I honestly didn't think the little one was this capable. He actually brought it back."

Kami-musubi, the Divine Creator of Shinto Mythology, adopted a cold smile as she let out a melodious chuckle.

"A strange conundrum, is it not?" She commented quietly, "You, the one who calls himself the Heavenly Ancestral God, have the power to effortlessly obliterate those who stand in your way. And yet, it seems that even you, Amenominakanushi, lack the power to destroy even a single child."

The Divine Creator's orbs of sight glowed even brighter as her eyes traveled over to the Hyoudou couple.

"What a small, feeble little star you are, Issei Hyoudou."

* * *

**Death's Domain**

A flash of light illuminated the dark ambiance of the Realm of the Shinigami, with the brightness fading away to reveal the silhouettes of Issei and Cao Cao. As the light cleared away, Issei's eyes narrowed as he looked around the surroundings of the domain.

"I see." Cao Cao commented, "So it all makes sense now. It would explain why you were unaffected when I tried to stab you with the True Longinus. It also explains why the Truth Idea chose your will over mine. Who would've thought that you of all people would meet the Biblical God Himself."

"Believe me, Cao Cao," Issei responded, "I'm still trying to process that myself."

_Issei..._

A cooing voice made Issei stop in his pace, and he looked up silently.

_You came back._

The ambiance of the Supernatural World coiled around him gently, its hold on him in a affectionate and gentle embrace. Ebbs of its consciousness sent out waves of genuine love and concern.

_You...really came back._

The Supernatural World's feminine voice called out to him, its tone sweet and soft, while at the same time exuding utter surprise.

Issei adopted a small smile upon hearing the voice of his sentient home. In response, he flared out a reassuring wave of his aura.

'Of course I did. I said I'd protect you and the Earth.'

He then paused, before looking back up.

'Suu.'

_...Suu?_

Sensing the confusion from his second home, Issei opted to explain.

'It's a shorter way of saying your name. Like a nickname.'

_Suu...an abbreviation of my title. Issei gave me a nickname?_

'That's right. It took me a while to think of one for you, but I think this one fits, since it's already in your name.'

_A nickname. You...gave me a nickname._

The child of Shinto remained still as he felt another wave of intense affection pass through his mind.

_Thank you, Issei. Thank you so much._

"Hey, Issei Hyoudou." Cao Cao called out, interrupting Issei's mental conversation, "How long do you think you have?"

"For what exactly?" Issei asked.

"The transformation you're currently maintaining." The Strongest Human elaborated, "You just gained access to the form, so I know you haven't automatically adjusted to it."

"You're right." Issei agreed as his aura receded into his being, "I'm still not used to this form. I have a lot of energy within me, but not enough reserves to maintain it for a long period of time. I can already feel the energy burning away from my body."

The child of Shinto released a exasperated sigh, annoyed at himself.

"Damn. I shouldn't have acted so rashly and absorbed the energies of UY Scuti so quickly."

"You do have a habit of acting on your whims without consideration." Cao Cao dryly pointed out, earning a reluctant nod of agreement from Issei.

"..." Issei pondered for a moment, before a thought struck him as he turned to look at Cao Cao, "Would storing it work?"

"Storage?" Cao Cao asked with an eyebrow raise.

"The energies I absorbed from UY Scuti. If I find a way to do that, I won't have to worry about my body losing so much stamina from the weight of the intense energy. That way, I can conserve energy until I need to use it."

"So essentially you intend to seal the energies?" Cao Cao deduced.

"Right."

"I don't know whether to praise you for coming up with that, or to accuse you of mimicry."

"Mimicry?"

"Of Vali's Sacred Gear." Cao Cao clarified.

"Huh." Issei said as he blinked, "Maybe I'm just adapting Vali's style to my own. Then again, I did have a remnant of Albion's soul living in my inner world for a while. I must have picked up the notion from him."

"How long did you have the power of the Vanishing Dragon?"

"A while ago, actually. Long before I met you in the Realm of the Dead."

"That long ago?" Cao Cao questioned incredulously, "Why didn't you use it against me during our encounter?"

"Because my body was still trying to adjust from carrying two Heavenly Dragons with opposite powers. I didn't have access to any of my powers at the time."

"You mean to tell me that you were unable to use your full power when we fought?"

"Yeah. But even if I could, it wouldn't have mattered much. There wasn't really a need to exert any more force than what was necessary at the time."

"Just what are you trying to say?" Cao Cao asked, suspicion in his tone.

"What?" Issei replied innocently, "I'm not trying to insult you or anything. I'm just saying that I didn't need to, you know, go all out."

"Let's not forget who succeeded in turning the other into stone." Cao Cao retorted, a bit put off from Issei's innocent statement.

"Let's also not forget who came back and wrenched the other's eye out for turning him into stone." Issei evenly replied.

The two glared at each other for a few moments.

"You just had that to bring that up, didn't you?"

"If I didn't know any better, Cao Cao, I'd say you're still mad about losing your eye."

"Still ma-?!" Cao Cao started before he glowered at the Shinto God, "Of course I'm still mad about it! Who wouldn't be nettled after losing an eye?!"

"Nettled?"

"It means annoyed."

"Why didn't you just say that?"

"Don't change the subject!" Cao Cao reprimanded him, "The point is that, yes, Issei Hyoudou, I'm still annoyed by the loss of my one eye!"

"In my defense," Issei retorted with a frown, "you turned me into stone with Medusa's eye, and destroyed my body with the True Longinus. You should've expected me to retaliate."

"Oh yes, retaliation. I'm sure by now we're all well aware of that infamous trait of yours, Issei Hyoudou." Cao Cao seethed, "But here's the thing. You regenerated! Every piece of you realigned themselves to completion! I, however, am still without an eye!"

"No one told you to use Medusa's Eye on me, Cao Cao. You brought that on yourself."

"How else was I going to have an advantage against you?" Cao Cao asked, his temper nearly rising.

"You should've had more than one plan, then!"

"I...you...!" Cao Cao stopped and took a deep breath, trying his damnedest to compose himself.

The worse part was that he knew that none of Issei Hyoudou's responses were intended to be personal insults to his capabilities.

At least he hoped it wasn't.

"You know what?" Cao Cao said after he calmed down, "Let's...just change the subject."

To the Strongest Human's amazement, the child of Shinto immediately calmed down with a weary sigh.

"Yeah, um, sorry about that." He said, earning another surprised look from the Strongest Human, "There's no point in bringing up bad memories between us."

"Um...right." Cao Cao blinked in confusion before moving back on topic, "Anyway. Where exactly are you going to seal the excess energy you have?"

"Hmm." Issei pondered before he looked behind himself, "The halo."

"Are you sure it's capable of holding that much energy?" Cao Cao questioned.

"Well if it's from the Truth Idea," Issei began, "and from the God from the Bible, anything's possible."

"Supposedly." Cao Cao replied with a doubtful tone.

Placing himself in a meditative position, Issei released the aura of his 'Morning Star' transformation, taking great care to separate the energies of UY Scuti from his own. He took a deep breath, and placed himself in a trance of concentration.

Issei's jaw clenched as he felt the halo glow brightly behind him. He could feel the energies from UY Scuti slowly leaking out of his body, and into his aura. The double-layered aura burned around him, but he let himself endure the intense heat.

His aura twisted and turned all around him, and started to change to a much brighter color as the intensity grew. From crimson-red to a light-blue ethereal flame, and fire-like orange to a radiant silvery-white flame. His hair also began to brighten completely, the pink fading away to reveal a brilliant white.

Though he had seen Issei Hyoudou exude the double aura of blue and white before, Cao Cao couldn't take his eye off the display. He watched as the energies of UY Scuti transferred to the halo behind Issei, with the object glowing and turning to a hot-pink color from the absorption. The inside of the halo began to change in structure, with the spikes forming in the shape of a double infinity symbol.

Feeling a colossal weight leave him, Issei released a sigh of great relief. He allowed himself to relax, with his body now free of the strain from the energies of UY Scuti.

"I assume you feel more at ease?" Cao Cao asked, prompting a nod from Issei.

"To be honest, yeah. I don't feel so heavy now." Issei replied.

The Strongest Human looked at the young man with an analytical stare. Noticing this, Issei blinked at him.

"What's up?"

"Your hair changed color again." Cao Cao stated nonchalantly.

"What is it this time?"

"White."

"You mean like Vali's?"

"No, his is more of a dark silver shade. Yours is brighter than his. Like a pure white." Cao Cao explained, "And your aura is blue-white again."

"Huh." Issei said as he looked himself over, "So without the energies of UY Scuti, my hair changes to white."

"Well remember you displayed a white aura when you absorbed part of UY Scuti, and that's a red supergiant star. That's why your hair turned pink."

"Right, right." Issei agreed as he clenched and released his fists.

Cao Cao then looked around his surroundings, now wondering where he and the Solar God had traveled to.

"So, what is this place?"

"It's the Realm of the Shinigami." Issei answered for him, "It's where the lost souls reside."

"Lost souls?" Cao Cao questioned, "But this world already has realms that harbor souls."

"Right. Heaven, the Underworld, and Purgatory. I remember." Issei agreed as he continued to look around.

"Not just those three." Cao Cao clarified, "I'm talking about Limbo and Malebolge."

Cao Cao's words were enough to make Issei pause in his observation. He turned to look at the human with a quizzical stare.

"What were those last two you said?"

"Limbo and Malebolge." Cao Cao repeated with a raise of his eyebrow, "You've never heard of those realms?"

"No." Issei answered with a shake of his head, "I've never even heard of them. This is actually the first time I'm hearing the names."

It was true. The 'Above' Entity, Death, and even the embodiment of the Supernatural World never once mentioned Limbo and Malebolge to him. He was well aware of Purgatory and Cocytus, despite having never traveled to the former personally.

"What happens to the souls in Limbo and Malebolge?" He asked Cao Cao with clear interest in his voice.

"You really should've been aware of this already," Cao Cao said as he sighed, "but Limbo is the edge of the Underworld."

"The edge?"

"Let me finish." Cao Cao said in annoyance, "Anyway, it's speculative at best, but it's the place of those who've died in original sin, but without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned and the burning place."

"So it's like an in-between realm of the Underworld."

"Actually, yes. I have to admit, it's a relief that you understood my explanation. I was worried I'd have to dumb it down for you."

"I'm not an idiot, Cao Cao." Issei said with a frown, prompting the Strongest Human to smirk at him in jest, "So what about Malebolge?"

"Well that's the realm above Cocytus." Cao Cao continued, "It's the residence of where those who have evil minds, wicked souls, evil spirits; basically malevolent entities, get sent to and punished."

"I had no idea those realms existed."

"I don't really know how you could possibly lack any knowledge about them. Haven't people made threats of killing and sending you to the various states of Hell once or twice?"

"They never bothered to give a location when they threatened me." Issei replied, before frowning, "How severe are the punishments in Malebolge?"

"Tch. I don't know why you're asking me. I've never been to that realm before."

"Then how do you know so much about it?"

"Hades ranted it to me once or twice during his tirade of his hatred of the Devils and Fallen Angels. He mentioned something about sending them to Malebolge if he ever got the chance."

"And does Hades have control over that realm?"

"Of course not. He owns the Greek Realm of the Dead, and that's only because that realm is part of the Olympus World."

Issei took Cao Cao's words into consideration as he looked off to the side.

Damn.

And he thought dwelling within the Supernatural World's consciousness was a nightmare. Then again, perhaps he should feel lucky that the sentient world didn't try to trap him in Limbo or Malebolge.

...Wait a second.

Another thought struck him.

'Suu, you beautiful world, you! You're brilliant!' Issei thought excitedly to the Supernatural World, 'If we weren't in such a huge crisis right now, I would totally hug you!'

The sentient world's consciousness emitted a gasp from her Visitor's words, unable to believe what she had just heard.

_Issei...called me beautiful? A second time!_

Issei blinked from the Supernatural World's voice that practically oozed with euphoria.

'A second time?'

_Yes, Issei-dearest._

Cao Cao raised an eyebrow as he watched Issei's expression slowly change to a serious and analytical one.

'There's that look again. What's he thinking?'

"Cao Cao." Issei began, "You said on our way here that Georg and Leonardo were with Vali, right?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

"Does Georg know any sealing spells?"

"As far as I'm aware, he should." Cao Cao confirmed.

"Good, because I just thought of something that could definitely work to our advantage."

"Wait, what?" The Strongest Human said with near incredulity in his voice, "You're just now thinking of a plan? I thought you already had one."

"Don't worry, I already thought of one." Issei reassured him.

"Just out of curiosity, what exactly is this plan?" Cao Cao questioned, "Because you still haven't told me what it is."

"I'll explain along the way."

"We don't have time for you to make things up on the spot, Issei Hyoudou."

"You clearly don't know me, Cao Cao. I've conjured up plans on the fly before."

"That's a really bad habit of yours."

"It's been working so far, so I don't think there's a point in changing it now."

"And what if this plan of yours doesn't work?" Cao Cao pressed on, "Actually, don't answer that question. Just answer me this. Why are we in this domain?"

"Grendel, Crom Cruach, and Aži Dahāka contacted me." Issei replied.

"...Could you repeat that?"

"The Evil Dragons contacted me through telepathy." Issei explained, tapping his forehead.

"When did they do that?"

"The moment we transmitted away from Space."

"..." Cao Cao sighed as he sent Issei a glare, "I just know I'm going to regret asking this, but why do they want to talk to you?"

"Crom Cruach said he had something important to tell me. But he kept being discrete about it and said that I should come talk to him face to face."

"I can't believe those three still want to talk to you." Cao Cao commented in disbelief, "The fact that they helped you in the first place is a shock in itself."

"Believe me, I'm still surprised myself."

"And Hades' subordinate was the one who sent them back here, right?"

"Yeah, he did. That damn Pluto." Issei said with a frown, "He told Vali and I that Shinigami-san was the one who ordered him to bring them back here. But now I'm not so sure of the truth to that claim."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I feel like Shinigami-san would've come to retrieve them herself the moment they left this domain. She wouldn't have asked someone else, let alone a former servant of Hades to do her job for her."

"So you think Pluto was lying?" Cao Cao asked.

Issei scowled upon thinking about the Grim Reaper, and looked up with a thoughtful gaze.

'Suu?'

Ebbs of the Supernatural World's ambiance let out a pulse full of excess bliss and affection, its feminine voice downright 'sugary' as it happily responded to Issei's nickname for it.

_Yes, Issei?_

'Did Pluto ever travel to this domain?

_Yes._

'How long ago?'

_Before you arrived to confront Hades and Indra about the Tournament of the Gods._

'That far back, huh? But that was two weeks ago. Did he ever talk to Shinigami-san?'

_No. He did encounter the Evil Dragons though. Or rather, the Evil Dragons approached him._

'Wait, really?' Issei thought in surprise, 'What business did they have with Pluto?'

_They wanted someone other than themselves to fight with. Or at least the Crime Force Dragon and the Diabolism Thousand Dragon did._

'Damn that Pluto!' Issei thought angrily, 'He returned them here because he wanted to get back at them for challenging him! Screw pacifism! Now Vali and I definitely have a reason to kill him!'

Taking a deep breath to get a hold of himself, Issei relaxed and sent a mental brush of gratitude to the sentient world.

'Thanks for telling me, Suu. I appreciate it.'

The sentient world's ambiance sent out another pulse of affection, and retreated into its depths.

"Issei Hyoudou."

Issei set his attention to the Strongest Human.

"Yeah?"

"You never answered my question."

"Ah, sorry about that. Just thinking more about the plan. What was it again?"

"Wouldn't it be wise to just leave the Evil Dragons be?"

"Honestly, yeah. It would. But here's the thing. Amenominakanushi messed up. He already messed with me and my Dragons, Mom and the solar deities, Mom and Dad on Earth, Vali and Albion, and the Sun. Then he messed with my homes, the Earth and the Supernatural World. With all of the things he has done, he's far beyond forgiveness in my eyes. But now, now he's pissed off Crom Cruach, Aži Dahāka, and Grendel."

"So what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that he messed with three Evil Dragons, Cao Cao. Having just one Evil Dragon against you is already a bad situation in itself. I'd be a fool not to use that to my advantage, considering how petty they are."

"You mean more of a fool than you already are?" Cao Cao snarked, "And just how do you know what they're going to talk to you about is going to be useful?"

"Because the shitty bastard that calls himself a God needs to die for what he did to us! Painfully!" A rough and bitter voice roared.

Cao Cao's eye widened upon hearing the gruff voice, and he turned around to see the imposing statures of the three evil Dragons, Crom Cruach, Grendel, and Aži Dahāka.

In opposite to Cao Cao, Issei gave the Evil Dragons a nod of acknowledgement, to which Crom Cruach, and to Issei's own surprise, Grendel and Aži Dahāka responded with nods of their heads.

"I know for a fact that you guys won't particularly care for what I'm about to say, but I'm actually glad to see you."

"Your power has grown, Issei Hyoudou." Crom Cruach observed, "In such a short time too. What is this transformation?"

"It's uh," Issei said as he rubbed the back of his head, "kind of difficult to explain."

"It really isn't." Cao Cao interjected.

"And what the hell happened to your hair?" Grendel asked rudely.

"Yes, it's all white now." Aži Dahāka commented, "And what's with that halo behind you?"

"That's a topic for another time." Issei said before he gave the Evil Dragons an apologetic glance, "Listen, I-"

"If you're saying what I think you're going to say," Grendel interrupted with a scowl, "Then keep your shitty apology to yourself. Now listen up because we're not gonna repeat this shit again, got that?"

"Wait, wait, wait, wait." Cao Cao said, gathering the attention of the other occupants, "Is this happening? Is this really happening right now?"

"The hell are you on about, weakling?" Grendel asked him.

"You three." The Strongest Human pointed to the Evil Dragons in front of him, "You're going along with this plan? You're actually going to help him? Why?"

"We originally went along with Issei Hyoudou because we weren't satisfied with battling each other for eternity." Crom Cruach explained, "We wanted to fight an entity with overwhelming strength."

"Ok, fine, I'd expect that from you Evil Dragons." Cao Cao assented with a glare, "But look what happened when you teamed up with Issei Hyoudou and encountered Amenominakanushi. All three of you were sent back here. So why would you agree to help him again?"

"Because that bastard Kami pissed us off and denied us a fight!" Grendel snarled, "Neither of us have had a decent battle in six months and counting! And for the record, shithead, we're not going with you this time!"

"I wouldn't have expected you to." Issei replied with a nod of his head.

"So you're doing all of this as an act of petty vengeance?" Cao Cao asked with a blank face.

"Of course we are!" Aži Dahāka replied, his three heads squinting at the Strongest Human, "You think we're helping Issei Hyoudou out of benevolence and out of the goodness of our hearts?"

"..." Cao Cao turned to look at Issei with a incredulous stare.

"...?" Issei's eyebrows raised at the Strongest Human, waiting for him to speak.

"Just when I thought I could take any more nonsense that comes my way," Cao Cao began, "it's you, Issei Hyoudou, who seems to take anything that resembles common sense, and push it off a never ending cliff."

"Huh." Issei blinked as he contemplated what Cao Cao just said to him, "Thanks, Cao Cao."

"That wasn't a compliment!" The owner of the True Longinus seethed before he pinched the bridge of his nose, "I swear, you are without a doubt the most irritating person I've ever had the displeasure of interacting with."

"Then why are you still here?" Issei asked, genuine curiosity in his tone.

The question made Cao Cao take a pause in his thoughts. Why was he still here? He had already gotten his answer for why the True Longinus had been acting so bizarre and so responsive towards Issei Hyoudou.

To the Strongest Human's own shock, he actually couldn't come up with a legitimate answer.

Sparing a glance at the Shinto God, Cao Cao shrugged and replied with an answer at the top of his head.

"I want my eye back."

Blinking at Cao Cao's random request, Issei lifted his hand up and put his middle finger and thumb together.

SNAP!

In a matter of seconds, Cao Cao winced as his hand quickly reached up to where his eyepatch was. Standing still for a few moments, the Strongest Human slowly removed his eyepatch, revealing a newly regenerated organic eyeball embedded in its socket.

Blinking repeatedly in shock while simultaneously adjusting to his newfound vision, Cao Cao set his eyes over to Issei, who stared back with a serious look on his face. In that moment, Issei no longer looked like the naive and literal-minded idiot savant that most beings proclaimed him to be. The Strongest Human had to remind himself that the person in front of him was a God.

A God that was raised on Earth, but a God nonetheless.

In the midst of his thoughts, the wielder of the True Longinus composed himself and turned to Issei. Similar to his own line of thinking, even Crom Cruach had noticed the frown on Issei's face, but it was not directed at Cao Cao.

"Thank you, Issei Hyoudou."

"Good, you got your eye back!" snapped Grendel, "Now you can stop bitching!"

"Listen you-!" snapped Cao Cao, his temper quickly resurfacing.

"Cease this banter! We've wasted enough time already." Crom Cruach ordered, prompting the Crime Force Dragon and human to glare moodily at each other.

"Issei Hyoudou." The Crescent Circle Dragon said, getting Issei's attention, "How much do you know of the Yamata-no-Orochi's capabilities?"

Issei's frown deepened at the question directed to him. He looked off to the side as he tried to think.

'I always combined Ddraig's strength along with Orochi's strength whenever I tried to get an advantage over my opponent. But...'

Now that he thought about it, he never really knew about the Yamata-no-Orochi's inherent abilities. As far as he could remember during his battle against Susanoo, the Storm God had never revealed anything about the Orochi, other than the God's battle against it from so long ago.

'I never asked Orochi-chan about her abilities either.'

After a few moments of silence, Issei directed his gaze to Crom Cruach.

"To be honest, I never thought to ask." He admitted somberly.

"Tch, of course you didn't." Grendel muttered to himself, before Aži Dahāka spoke up.

"Perhaps it's best that he never opted to ask. That ability of Orochi's is powerful enough to affect a victim's soul, so that damn traitor probably never told him for its own discretion."

At that piece of information regarding the Evil Dragon that usually accompanied him, Issei set his focus on Aži Dahāka.

"Soul?"

"Yes." Crom Cruach answered before Aži Dahāka could reply, "Perhaps the Orochi was worried that its ability could potentially affect your soul, so it never informed you of what it was. With the Red Dragon Emperor and the Yamata-no-Orochi being bound to your soul, it's understandable that it would be cautious of your existence."

"Ah." Cao Cao suddenly spoke up, already picking up what Crom Cruach was implying, "That's right. It does have that ability. I always wondered why you never used it."

"..." Issei fell silent for a few moments, before he moved his line of sight to Crom Cruach, "What's the ability?"

"Poison, Issei Hyoudou."

* * *

**Arena of the Underworld**

Throughout his entire existence, Amenominakanushi never would've imagined he'd be in a situation such as this. The moment he had defeated the Jabberwocky and the numerous Bandersnatch, he should've realized that some other obstacle was going to intrude in his victory. Whether the obstacle pertained to be to be the hallucination of Samael, or the clear and massive power increase in the descendant of Lucifer; only made the Shinto Kami curse his situation more.

From the moment he was struck in the gut by the host of the Vanishing of the Vanishing Dragon, Amenominakanushi felt that he should've known there was something off about the ally of Issei Hyoudou. The vast augmentation in power was a given factor.

_**GAAAH!**_

Amenominakanushi stumbled across the grounds of the Underworld, his hand clutching his gut as he tried to endure the pain. A buzzing sound tore through the air until a blast of energy collided with the Kami, its massive power exploding upon his chest area, evaporating his armor completely.

_**AAAAGH!**_

The Kami's gigantic body was forced back a good fifty meters. Amenominakanushi shivered, feeling his body to now be completely exposed to the descendant of Lucifer's attacks.

_**Nngh…!**_

"Damn!"

Amenominakanushi cursed and tried to ignore the true voice of Samael.

"Oooh, that looks painful!"

_**'Silence!'**_

"I'm just saying." the Dragon Eater shrugged, before he looked to the shining figure of the Vanishing Dragon, "Impressive, White Dragon Emperor."

"Listen well," Vali called out, prompting the Shinto Kami to look up and glare at him, "The power of the Hakuryuukou Albion and the power of the Maou Lucifer, this is the form I have gained by combining these two as one! Amenominakanushi, prepare yourself!"

'Albion, are you ready?'

_(Ha ha ha, be my guest!)_

Amenominakanushi let out a chuckle, though it was filled with distress and rage.

_**Do not presume your transformation is superior to mine, Vali Lucifer! I still have a slight advantage over you! Don't forget you still contain the soul of a dragon! If this body's blood so much as grazes you, you are finished! Not to mention-GUAGH!**_

"You talk too much!" Vali exclaimed, cutting him off with a punch to the face. Blood spurted from Amenominakanushi's nose, which did not hinder Vali's assault one bit.

"Oh no he didn't!" Samael said, chuckling.

From his half-blurred vision, the Shinto Kami could barely register Vali's form as it sped towards his face once more. Distressed, he violently swung his claws in the air. He hit only thin air.

_**ARGH!**_

A harsh and impactful uppercut send the mutated old god flying hundreds of meters into the air. He was not given a chance to recover as Vali bombarded him with punches and energy blasts, damaging his body to a great extend.

_**EAAAAARGH!**_

"Hmm, this battle won't last for long if you keep letting him hit you." Samael commented, still smirking in amusement. "Try dodging, why don't you?"

Amenominakanushi's eyes flashed with pure fury and he let out a roar, applying godly energy into the sound waves to make them push the host of the Vanishing Dragon back. They succeeded a little, but that was all the Kami needed.

Warping his Fallen Angel wings around his body and covering them in Samael's energy, Amenominakanushi settled into a defensive ball-like position. He shuddered as he felt a barrage of immense demonic energy flying his way, but sighed in relief once they exploded harmlessly upon his compressed barrier.

"Man, that was a close one." Samael commented next to him, earning more of Amenominakanushi's ire.

_**'You stay away from me, you cursed monstrosity!'**_

"Would if I could, and believe me, I would." Samael replied nonchalantly, "But alas. You're still in the possession of the body."

_**'A body that will be in danger the longer you continue to distract me! Don't you care about the survival of your own body?!'**_

"What do you think?"

_**'You damn fool!'**_

Meanwhile, Vali Lucifer was stuck with his own dilemma. How was he going to penetrate that damn barrier? He had tried blasting it to bits, but that did no good. He decided to channel more power into his wings and charge a more powerful attack.

_(LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL)_

A piercing noise blared out from the gems of his silver-white and black-jet armor. The twelve wings on his armor parted in the middle, ejected out from Vali's back, and began to change in appearance and form. Suddenly, the wings split into multiple wyverns. A total of twelve circled around Vali.

"Hmm. This is different." Vali commented with clear interest in his voice.

The twelve wyverns looked at their summoner, awaiting his command. With a mischievous glance, Vali looked to the huddled figure of Amenominakanushi, who appeared to be arguing with himself.

"Go!"

Both Amenominakanushi and Samael looked up from the sound of Vali's booming voice. The Shinto Kami gasped in shock as twelve wyverns shot towards him.

"Wyverns, eh?" Samael mused casually.

_**Wyverns?!**_

One of the wyverns changed its shape in the form of a canon. Moments later, a bright light emanated from the opening of the canon, and released a powerful burst of Lucifer's aura. Feeling a sense of dread upon him, Amenominakanushi used his godly power to enhance the range and durability of the barrier. He also wrapped his wings more tightly around himself.

"Strengthening your barrier won't work, Shinto Kami!" Vali Lucifer declared.

"He isn't exactly wrong." Samael added.

As proof of his statement, the wyverns fired out multiple blasts of Lucifer's aura. True to Vali's declaration, Lucifer's aura started to pierce through Amenominakanushi's shield. The Shinto Kami growled as his barrier began to show cracks.

Thinking quickly, Amenominakanushi summoned multiple black-white lightspears above his barrier and fired them at the host of Albion.

_(Reflect!)_

As Albion's echoing voice rang throughout the Arena of the Underworld, the wyverns effortlessly reflected the numerous spears send towards their commander. Amenominakanushi gasped as his own lightspears pierced through his barrier, adding to the numbers of cracks.

Vali began firing blasts of his own at the weakened barrier.

Amenominakanushi struggled to catch his breath, as it was getting harder to maintain the barrier. He felt rage sipping in once again.

_**'Am I going to be defeated by that puny Vanishing Dragon and his pitiful hybrid friend?!'**_

"Yeah, probably..." Samael said, relishing in the god's distress.

_**'SHUT UP!'**_

His anger riled up his body, giving Amenominakanushi the strength to fire a powerful wave of corrupted godly energy from his mouth.

_**RAAAAAAAH!**_

Seeing how the force of the wave pushed through his wyverns' blasts easily, Vali steeled himself and increased his own power, and immediately released it from his body.

_(LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL)_

_(Satan Compression Divider!)_

Upon Albion's call, his host released a blast of pure demonic radiance. Silvery-white and black-jet streams of light twisted around each other, and shot towards Amenominakanushi.

When the two attacks made contact, Amenominakanushi was horrified to see his immense energy wave instantly compressed over and over, and eventually disappear.

_**'What on Earth is that?!'**_

On the verge of panic, the Kami summoned an energy sphere and shot it towards the advancing light in order to cancel it out.

"It's not going to work, moron." Samael said coolly.

_**'Quiet!'**_

Amenominakanushi's sphere had no different effect on the light. The light finally made impact with his barrier and broke it completely. The Kami stared agape.

_**'...'**_

"I told you." Samael said with a roll of his eyes, "It's not a regular ability, and it's nothing technical. It's just light. A very powerful light. Kinda reminds me of dear old Dad's. Hell, even the Original Lucifer if I'm being honest."

_**'H-How could this light be so formidable?!'**_

"Isn't your true form comprised of light?" Samael pointed out.

_(Half-Dimension!)_

The wyverns' bodies glowed as the matter surrounding Amenominakanushi and Vali began to be halved. Amenominakanushi looked around in horror as the energies of his field and the light compressed at a rapid pace. He felt his body shake as the brightness of Vali's energy caught his eye. Suddenly, Vali transmitted away and appeared in front of the Shinto Kami.

_**'No! Not like this!'**_

With a dark scowl, Vali struck Amenominakanushi with his powerful demonic energy. A flash of light illuminated the area with intense brightness.

* * *

**With George, Leonardo and Le Fay**

At a far corner in the arena of the Underworld, sat Georg, Leonardo, and Le Fay, with all of their attention set onto the battle between Vali and Amenominakanushi.

{This power!}

[Vanissshing Dragon issss ssstronger!]

"I don't believe it! He's actually overpowering him!" cheered Georg.

Leonardo stared silently at the battle in front of him, his opinion of the fight similar to his teammates.

The boy was still fatigued from the destruction of the Jabberwocky and the multiple Bandersnatch. His monsters were durable enough to hold off Amenominakanushi, thanks to being covered in the armor derived from the properties of Grendel's scale. But even then, the Shinto Kami had managed to overpower the monsters born from the Annihilation Maker.

From behind the two Sacred Gear wielders, Le Fay watched the battle with stars in her eyes.

"Yeah! Go, Vali-sama!" She cheered, gathering the attention of Georg and Leonardo.

"It's you!" exclaimed Georg, and he looked over to the objects next to his fellow magician, "And you brought all of the Demon Swords!"

"Mhmm!" Le Fay nodded with a sweet smile, "Sorry for the wait. I was making dinner for Vali-sama for when he comes back."

"You were making dinner?! At a time like this?!" Georg shouted incredulously.

"I thought Vali-sama would want something to eat after you guys were all done here!" Le Fay retorted in defense.

"We're all in a serious crisis here! This is no time for cooki-!" Georg started before Leonardo hit him in the shoulder, "Ow, damn it! All right, fine! Thanks for bringing the swords to us. You can go back now, before Amenominakanushi targets you next."

He then looked over to see a faltering Gogmagog barely standing from his fight against Amenominakanushi.

{Gogmagog has fought well. But it is time for him to retreat.}

"Right." Georg agreed with the Welsh Dragon, before he turned his sights to Le Fay, "Take the golem with you as well."

"Are you sure you won't need Gogz-kun here?" Le Fay questioned.

"Absolutely. He'll only get in the way, and I'm pretty sure you don't want him to be damaged any more than he is now."

With a worried and concerned look on her face, Le Fay nodded in assent. She quickly summoned a silver magic circle that manifested from under her and the far away Gogmagog. As she and the golem disappeared from Georg's and Leonardo's sight, the magician set his eyes to the Demon Swords laying next to the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi.

"Perfect. Now all we have to do is wait for Cao Cao and Issei Hyoudou to arrive."

{Magician.}

"What is it?" Georg replied.

{Direct the Yamaha-no-Orochi and I towards the Demon Swords. I can feel something calling out to us.}

"Calling out to you?" Georg asked.

[Willsss. We hear their willsssssss. They wissssh to become one.]

* * *

**Vali vs Amenominakanushi**

As the bright light vanished from the atmosphere, Vali remained silent as he looked down upon the Shinto Kami. Amenominakanushi, whose body had taken extreme damage from the blast, collapsed onto the ground in agony. Due to the overwhelming force of Vali's demonic blast, the Kami lost the four sharp horns he had gained from merging with Samael, along with the Fallen Angel wings.

_(This power we wield now, Vali. We have delivered heavy amounts of damage on our opponent. He's heavily wounded now.)_

'Yeah.' repeated Vali, 'But he can still regenerate, so he's not down for the count yet.'

While floating above, Vali stoically spread open his twelve wings of Lucifer, and once again released a silvery-white and black-jet light.

"I told you a while ago, Amenominakanushi: if we fought, the result will be the same as it was with Hyoudou." Vali taunted coolly.

Amenominakanushi's growl was intercepted by a pained cough.

_**Y-You...arrogant little...ugh…!**_

Vali frowned in disgust at the convulsing Primordial Kami.

"Yeah, I am quite arrogant. But unlike you, I at least keep my word."

_(Why are you even talking to him?)_

'Because I want to assert my dominance. Plus, the madder he gets, the more the Poison of God will corrupt his body-' Vali explained, pausing to let his dragon finish.

_(-Until it's no longer able to handle the drastic mutations. Good thinking, Vali. Though I have to warn you that we don't have a lot of time left in this form. He mustn't be allowed to adapt further or else the tides might turn against us.)_

'Then we'll do what he can.'

Vali flexed his body and let out even more of Lucifer's and Albion's combined power.

The Kami of Shintoism couldn't stop himself from shuddering under the immense wave of power. He raged at his own fear.

_**Y-You really think I am defeated!? You say you are as formidable as Amaterasu's snobby brat?! Fool, Issei Hyoudou could not kill me! You won't have that chance, either! DIEEEEEEEE!**_

Summoning his last bouts of strength, Amenominakanushi let out an aura scream, making Vali's vision go hazy for a brief moment. Then, the Kami got up and charged wobbly at Vali, fist reared and shrouded in Samael's aura. The descendant of Lucifer was absolutely calm as he observed the incoming monster that to him appeared to move in slow motion. He narrowed his eyes.

'This is a bit too obvious...My back!'

Turning around, Vali effortlessly caught the real Amenominakanushi's fist. The Kami's illusion passed harmlessly through them, dissolving into nothing. Inside his helmet, Vali's face showed nothing more than bored irritation.

_**U-ugh...How...?!**_

Without saying a word, Vali released his impressive light into Amenominakanushi's arm. The light burned through skin, muscle and bone, until it exploded, sending disgusting bloody chunks everywhere.

_**AAAAAAAGH!**_

Amenominakanushi screamed in pure agony, collapsing once more on the ground. He shivered, trying not to vomit, as he grew a new arm.

From next to him, the hallucination of Samael smirked darkly, finding extreme humor in the situation his 'tenant' was in.

"Damn, even I felt all of that!" Samael chuckled, "For once, I'm glad I'm not in control of the body."

Amenominakanushi felt a twinge of fear hit him as he tried to crawl away from the descendant of Lucifer.

_**'This...power…! It far...exceeds my own…! I cannot even land a single scratch on him! But...But it cannot be! I should be much stronger, and all my attributes should've been increasing the whole time! Why?! Why aren't any of my attributes adapting to this battle?! When I fused with Samael, my own power increased exponentially, and continued to do so! It should know no bounds!'**_

"You really enjoy hyping yourself up, don't you?" muttered the Dragon Eater, arms crossed over his chest, "Yes, you gained more power when you merged with my body. But by doing so, you also took in Father's curse. My blood, Shinto Kami. It's poisonous against Dragons and the possessors of Dragons alike."

Samael's look of amusement dissolved into annoyance as Amenominakanushi gave him his full attention.

_**'But I am a God! Your poison-'**_

"It doesn't matter what you are. You merged with me, Amenominakanushi. And by doing so, you, quite literally, became what I am. A Fallen Angel and Dragon hybrid. And now, the curse is finally starting to take effect on you."

_**'No! No, that can't be! I am stronger than that wretched curse! I can overpower it!'**_

"Don't be delusional." snapped Samael, seething from the Shinto Kami's words, "This is God's curse we're talking about here. A curse that has remained within me for over millennia! It isn't something that can fade away, just like that!"

_**'This...this cannot be!'**_

He had tried to deny it. He really had. But as soon as Samael mentioned it, the Shinto Kami could actually feel the curse spreading throughout the body. He was able to avoid the effects of the curse for a extended period of time due to his own godly nature, but even that grand amount of willpower and endurance was starting to diminish.

Amenominakanushi felt his gut churn as he grit his teeth.

_**'This...this pain! The pain is unbearable! I think I'm going to vomit!'**_

"I told you, didn't I?" said Samael, his tone growing irritated, "In fact, I'm fairly sure all of us told you. Hell, even that bastard skeleton Plato, or whatever the hell his name was, said it was a stupid idea."

_**'How dare you criticize my actio-'**_

"Shut the hell up, you idiotic! Piece! Of! Waste!" interrupted Samael, his temper resurfacing, "Last time I checked, I'm not the one who is getting his posterior kicked in such a humiliating manner! And yet, despite all of the evidence that proves otherwise, you still proclaim yourself to be an all-powerful deity! Damn you! I think I'm really starting to hate you more than I hate Dragons! No wonder the host of Ddraig despises you so!"

Unfortunately for the Dragon Eater, Amenominakanushi had long ago blocked his voice out. The Shinto Kami concentrated on the ally of Issei Hyoudou. His body screamed at him as he struggled to stand up. The amount of damage Vali Lucifer had given him had proved to be too much for even the Kami to handle.

"Let me put it in terms that even you will understand, Shinto Kami." muttered Samael, his tone set in a controlled manner of speaking, "My poisoned blood; the curse of God, is starting to break the body down. And it's only going to get worse."

_**'Why are you so unconcerned about our situation? If I perish, you will die too!'**_

"Yes, indeed." began Samael, "And you know what? I'm perfectly fine with that outcome. I'd willingly return to Cocytus, or even accept death. At this point, anything's better than my existence being tied with the likes of you."

The Kami of Shintoism went ready to retort, until he felt something unpleasant surge up in his throat. Amenominakanushi shook in panic, and covered his mouth with his hand as his body shook.

"Take it from someone who knows from experience." said Samael solemnly, "It'd be better for you to vomit that blood out as soon as possible. You try and hold it in, you're gonna wish you hadn't."

The Shinto Kami flinched as he felt bile and more blood rise from within. He doubled over in pain, so distracted from the feeling that he could not prepare himself to defend his body against Vali's wyverns, which were approaching him at a fast pace.

The wyverns increased their velocity, their tiny bodies oozing out a dangerous and ominous aura. Watching the writhing Shinto Kami with disgust on his features, Samael looked up, and flashed the miniature Dragons a twisted smirk.

"Another ability, eh?"

_(VENOM!)_

Amenominakanushi quickly looked up at the frightening noise, and held back a choking gasp upon seeing the wyverns that were in front of him, emitting a dense but clear ambiance. Moments later, he felt an overwhelming pressure upon him, and without warning, retched out voluminous amounts of blood.

"I told you not to hold it in." Samael commented with a roll of his eyes.

"Do you feel that, Amenominakanushi?" Vali called out from afar.

Feeling an intense surge of hatred, the Shinto Kami locked eyes with the host of the Vanishing Dragon, attempting to hold more of the bile within his throat.

_**What the hell is this, descendant of Lucifer?!**_

"It's another of Albion's...no, Gwiber's abilities." explained Vali, "The ability that's called Reduce."

_**Reduce?!**_

_(That's correct, Amenominakanushi. My poison is able to reduce all existences aside from inorganic objects. As long as it's a living being, its blood, bones, organs, and soul can be cut down bit by bit. Not even you, a God, are immune to reduction!)_

Amenominakanushi coughed out another pool of blood as his knees gave out, causing him to fall to the ground once again.

'How can this be?!'

"Heh heh heh. Impressive, White Dragon Emperor." Samael chuckled darkly, before he quickly sobered, "Hmph. I think I've overstayed my welcome."

The Shinto Kami looked up at the Dragon Eater in shock.

'What?!'

Samael let out a booming laugh as his body flickered in and out.

"_Heh heh heh_! May you suffer for eternity...Amenominakanushi."

And with that, the Dragon Eater released a boom of maniacal laughter, and disappeared from the Shinto Kami's view.

As more of the wyverns started to approach him, they suddenly began to flicker away, their bodies dissipating. Amenominakanushi looked up, and noticed that Vali's armor was fading fast.

Vali's eyes narrowed in resignation as his Diabolos Dragon Lucifer armor disappeared, leaving him in his normal state.

'Damn.'

_(Do not fret. We've weakened him, so there is that.)_

Amenominakanushi's body trembled as he became light-headed, with Albion's poison affecting him greatly. He tensed from poison coursing through his veins, its substance merging with the curse inside him.

_N-No...I cannot...let it end...like this...Ngh...Agh!_

But he was too weak. He couldn't even muster a vortex to escape through. Couldn't even transmit to another location. The conflict with Samael, the little human's Anti-Monsters and Vali Lucifer had exhausted his reserves completely. Now, the third one was slowly and painfully killing him.

_**'This...is not my destiny...'** _he thought faintly to himself as black spots appeared in his vision. Finally, his body reached its utmost limit and Amenominakanushi fell with a thud.

An awkward and somewhat ominous silence ensued in the Arena of the Underworld. Vali's eyes had widened a bit, though he still held a somewhat tense stance.

"We got him!" echoed the distant voice of George. A moment later, the sound of a slap echoed across. "Ouch!"

_(Vali! He's wide open, we can end it once and for all! Blast him till nothing's left!)_

'...'

_(Vali!)_

'I can't do that, Albion.'

_(What? Why? Wait...don't tell me you want to wait for Issei Hyoudou to come here and kill Amenominakanushi himself!)_

'You know I'm not into sentimental nonsense like Hyoudou is. But you're right. I'm waiting for Hyoudou to come kill him, because I can't. I wasted my demonic magic maintaining our new form. Although...shouldn't your poison be able to kill him eventually.'

_(Sadly, no. His regenerative abilities are abnormal. It might turn him into a fleshy blob, though.)_

'Then waiting for Hyoudou it is. As always...'

_(What will we do with Amenominakanushi until then?)_

Vali had already thought about that.

'The wyverns can keep pumping poison into him.' he turned his head to where the others were, 'Maybe I can also get George to put some seals on him, just in case.'

Vali flew over to George and Leonardo, taking note of Le Fay and the Gogmagog's absence and he felt mild content with that. He couldn't risk his team mates being here. Amenominakanushi was an opponent that was way out of their league.

"So, um Vali...great job back there...it looks as if though we might have won." immediately after saying that, George closed his eyes, preparing for another slap. But it didn't come this time. He sighed, relieved to have not 'jinxed' everyone, again.

Much as he found George to be irksome, Vali couldn't help but find his antics amusing. He still hated him, though.

"Good news is, Amenominakanushi isn't getting up anytime soon."

"And, ah, the bad news?" George asked, nervously eyeing the Shinto Kami's immobile form.

"Well, there aren't any. We just have to wait for Hyoudou and Cao Cao to arrive to finish him off."

A wave of confusion was shared by the two Heroes.

"Can't you kill him?"

Vali rolled his eyes at him.

"My reserves aren't exactly where I'd like them to be at the moment. I exhausted so much power against Amenominakanushi that I don't have enough energy to reclaim the form I used against him. The wyverns are watching over him though. Feel free to put some of your best seals to use, if you want. We don't that monster catching us off guard."

Taking note of Georg's disappointed and weary face, Vali once more looked down at the energies forming around the swords.

"What's going on with them?"

"Don't know." Georg answered for him, "The Welsh Dragon told me to put the Kusanagi sword next to the Demon Swords. The Orochi said something about hearing their calls."

_(Intriguing.)_

_{Yes indeed. Their wills. And magician, your theory was correct. The Demon Swords did indeed choose partner as their wielder. They wish to aid him.}_

Georg frowned with a sigh as he looked back to Vali.

"You said your reserves are low, right? If that's the case, then I'll heal you while we think of a plan. Oh, and about the seals - I'll see what I can do."

Vali looked at the magician for a brief moment, before he nodded and walked towards Georg. The magician directed his hands toward Vali, and concentrated as a healing aura emanated from him. Much to Vali's relief, his energy reserves seemed to be returning to a more salvageable capacity.

"So." Georg started, "What now?"

"We-" Vali cut himself off as he abruptly looked to the side, "..."

Georg followed Vali's line of sight, and his eyebrows rose in confusion.

"What's up?"

"That energy." The host of the Vanishing Dragon answered, his eyes narrowing in interest, "Is that-"

Just then, the sky of the Underworld shifted, its form twisting into a spiraling mass of energy in the form of a devastating tornado that descended onto the ground. Georg and Leonardo winced at the sheer power emanating from the tornado, while Vali looked at it with intrigue in his eyes.

Moments later, the tornado dissipated, revealing the figures of Issei Hyoudou and Cao Cao.

"Cao Cao!" Georg exclaimed, while Leonardo let out a inaudible sigh of relief.

"It's about time you two showed up." Vali commented, ignoring Cao Cao's look of annoyance from the statement.

"Don't look at me." Cao Cao replied, sending Issei a glare, "Blame him for getting sidetracked like hell."

_{Partner!}_

_[Issssssei!]_

"Sorry to keep you guys waiting. Lots of strange stuff happened." Issei flashed a faint smile in response, before he shot Vali a serious look, "Where'd he disappear to? I just felt him a moment ago."

George's brows furrowed in confusion as he failed to understand what the Solar God had meant.

"What...What do you mean, man? He's right over the-" he stopped when Leonardo turned him around to see the absence of the unconscious Shinto Kami. "Was...He was right over there."

Vali looked shell-shocked, before glaring back at George, looking ready to punch him in the face.

"W-What the hell are you glaring at me for?! You were the one who was supposed to keep him occupied!"

As he watched the magician and the dragon host put the blame on each other, Cao Cao sighed in weary annoyance and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I can't believe this. It's like a comedy show."

"Don't worry. This isn't the first time Amenominakanushi has fled from battle. I can track him down. In fact, I think it should be easier, with him being merged with Samael and all."

Issei closed his eyes and followed the trail of negative energy left behind Amenominakanushi. His brows furrowed, as something odd happened. After two minutes of no response from the Solar God, Cao Cao grumbled.

"Well, Issei Hyoudou?"

Said boy's eyes opened. There was some uncertainty in them.

"I can't find him anywhere on the map."

"What? You gotta be kidding."

"I'm not, though. I can sense his energy on several different planes, but I can't find the source. It's like he no longer exists."

Issei's words made Cao Cao pause. The Strongest Hero looked down at the direction of their comrades. Certainly, it was difficult for him to comprehend this turn of events. No doubt the Solar God felt the same way.

"Issei Hyoudou," Cao Cao began with a tone far more serious than Issei had ever heard it, "this might be a serious hindrance to your plan. Perhaps we should settle down and think things through."

Issei adopted a mild scowl and crossed his arms.

"Our plan. And we can't just let Amenominakanushi go like that. Who knows what he's up to out there." Issei tightened his hand into a fist and looked at it, remembering the psychological torture Amenominakanushi put him through, "We'll find him. We have to."

"Don't you think you are being a little obsessive with him?" Cao Cao shot back with a slight smirk, which vanished when Issei glared at him.

"He threatened to kill the people closest to me, Cao Cao. He had the gall to attack me with illusions of my loved ones. He went ahead and released one of the most dangerous monsters in the world, just because of his personal vendetta against me. You really think I can rest, knowing he is still out there?!"

During his rant, Issei's eyes had began to flare a little, showing the anger and hatred he still harbored for Amenominakanushi.

"Okay, I got it..." Cao Cao said, frightened a little, though managing to keep his calm. It wasn't the first time a powerful deity was raging at him, "I wasn't aware he was such a vile god. And, you seemed so tranquil when we talked in the greek underworld, I couldn't assume much."

Issei remembered his encounter with the Strongest Hero and the Ultimate Grim Reaper and settled down, understanding what Cao Cao meant. He awkwardly rubbed the back of his head.

"I...It's a bit of a long story, but at the time, I had just overcome a personal problem of mine. A problem I have been struggling with, ever since my first encounter with the supernatural world."

Once again, at the mention of it's official name, the Supernatural World showered Issei with waves of invisible affection.

_Oh, Issei._

Issei smiled internally, welcoming some of the warmth 'Suu' gave him. Her presence disturbed him still, but now it was almost comforting. And his eyes suddenly widened, as he got a new idea.

'Suu! Can you hear me?'

_Always, my dear._

'Uh, yeah...look, I'm sorry, but I'll have to ask you to tell me the location of someone.'

_You wish to know where that pesky god is, no?_

'I didn't- oh, yeah, you can read my mind...'

_Fret not, my love. I will locate that pest immediately._

'Thanks, Suu.'

...Ugh…

'Suu, is everything alright?'

_Oh, Issei, always worrying about me. I'm fine...I'm annoyed because I can't find the God of Shinto, as well._

'So he really isn't in any of your realms?'

_I can't fully understand it either. To some extent, I can feel his presence. It's in one of the underworld realms. Yet, it also feels like he isn't there at all._

'An Underworld realm? Which one?'

_Soku, my dear Visitor. It's the Shinto's secondary hell._

'Secondary hell? But why? Doesn't Yomi already serve the purpose of a Shinto hell?'

_No, Issei. Yomi is the place where unfortunate souls may accidently find themselves in. It's function is more like Purgatory. Soku-no-kuni is where sinners and evil spirits are sealed to experience eternal suffering. It was a realm designed by the God of Shinto and his fellows._

'Fellows?'

_Colleagues. The first shinto gods who laid the foundations of the entire Shinto faction, as well as other smaller factions. They called themselves the Kotoamatsukami. They were five in total._

'Four other deities like Amenominakanushi…'

These were troubling news. Could there be a possibility in the future of these other 'Kotoamatsukami' attacking him and his family, while using the excuse of Issei almost killing one of their own? Issei hoped that wasn't the case.

"Issei Hyoudou!"

Issei's eyes snapped and he blinked. He noticed Cao Cao giving him a weird look.

"What's up?"

"'What's up'? You stared at nothing for five minutes straight!"

"Oh, uh, sorry about that..."

"What were you thinking about anyways?"

"I can't...I can't say..."

"Why not?"

"I-"

"Hey guys, something's happening with the blades!" George called out to them from afar.

"What?"

Schiooooooo!

A high-pitched hissing sound tore through the air. The Kusanagi blade and the Demon Swords floated, their auras flaring out like fireworks and blending into each other. Obscuring shadows surrounded each Demon Sword, while a bright light engulfed the Kusanagi. Flashes of bright light and shades of darkness clashed against each other as the visage of space around them contorted.

The sphere of opposing powers sent out shockwaves of different kinds, one being as chilling as a blizzard and another destructive as ten atomic bombs, prompting everyone, including Vali and Issei to shield themselves with their own energy. If the two Heavenly Dragons weren't taking the brunt of the shockwaves, the members of the Hero faction would've been likely blown away.

"This power!" Vali exclaimed.

"Everyone keep your shields up!" Issei shouted amidst the chaos, expanding his shield to cover everyone else.

Finally, after several intense moments, the storm of energies seemed to calm down and the shockwaves finally stopped. Everyone quickly recovered from it, with Vali and Issei being barely fazed…physically that was. When the smoke fully cleared, the form of something odd could be soon floating in the air.

"What the heck's that?!" George asked a bit frantic as he pointed out towards something. Issei followed the magician's line of sight and his eyes widened, his mouth opening a little. In the place where the five Demon Swords and the Kusanagi once stood, there was an unfamiliar long demonic-looking blade. It was slightly curved and half it had razor sharp 'teeth'. The dark aura that surrounded the strange weapon was intense. It was unlike any weapon Issei had seen. Not even the Vanishing Kusanagi at its best could compare to what he was looking at.

Everyone shifted cautiously as the sword descended down. Soon enough, Issei realized it was moving directly towards him. Feeling a small drop of sweat fall, Issei carefully wrapped his fingers around the rough handle as soon as the blade was within arm's reach. Everyone stared in bewilderment. Issei certainly did not know what was going on.

[[Behold, you who is our new wielder…]]

Issei stared in shock at the sword as he heard an unfamiliar voice echo in his mind. It was not Ddraig, nor did it sound like the Orochi. It sounded…darker…more violent in a sense.

[[Behold at the birth of a new magnificent blade…]]

[[Fitting for one such as you, our new master…]]

[[Behold…the Demonic Kusanagi is born!]]

* * *

**Astral Plane**

Samael whistled to himself, as he transmitted back into the vast empty plane. He clapped his hands, sneering.

"Well that was certainly fun..."

The Dragon Eater looked up.

"Hey Dad! I did as you told me to do! Now, it's time you uphold your end of the deal."

I cannot do that, Samael…

Any content on Samael's face was shot down.

"Are you serious?"

Issei Hyoudou's allies failed to destroy the body controlled by Amenominakanushi. And neither they, nor I, can identify his whereabouts.

As Samael listened he felt more and more of his negativism returning.

"Ok, cool, that's shitty news...All I want to know is how does that affect our agreement?"

Your soul is still bound to Amenominakanushi's. So long as his is still affected by my curse, yours will be, too. In other words, until the Shinto Kami is destroyed, you will still be cursed, Samael.

Rage sipped in Samael. Pure, unbridled rage and hatred.

"That damn bastard! Insolent fool!"

He threw his hands in his rage, causing violent tremors in the vast emptiness. His red eyes glowed with fury.

"Trash! Insect! Vermin!"

Samael damned everything, but most of all - he cursed Amenominakanushi. Fate played him like a fool, all because that idiot refused to die!

"Damn him!"

Samael, calm yourself. This has been a bothersome turn of events, but it can easily be fixed. You can still appear in Amenominakanushi's vicinity. We can now use your bond with him to locate him.

Samael grumbled to himself, inhaling deeply in order to steady his nerves.

What was that?

"I said I'll do it! Geez, Old Man, fix your hearing." Samael grit his teeth and snarled, "Shit, I really wish I could torture that bastard myself."

* * *

**Unknown Realm**

The realm in which Samael appeared was unfamiliar to him. It was certainly moody.

"And I thought Cocytus was miserable…"

Fields of grey ash spread across as far as his eyes could see. Mists made out lost souls and wailing shadows shrouded areas that resembled forests and ravaged shrines. Rivers of blood miasma filled to the brim with souls, cut through the endless ashen fields.

This was hell. But which hell, he did not know.

'Limbo, perhaps. Or maybe Tartarus.'

Samael followed the rivers with slight curiosity. He noticed how they all connected to a single enormous lake. Even looking at it from afar, Samael could feel an immeasurable amount of negativism converting into energy in the center.

He followed the massive trail of dark energy until he saw what was pulling it and his eyes widened at the sight. Far above the lake floated a sphere of pitch-blackness.

Samael stood agape. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Can something really be this black? What even was that? And more importantly - was Amenominakanushi there? Only one way to find out.

"Agh!"

The moment he tried to analyze the sphere, Samael felt a painful buzz piercing his brain, paralyzing him. Before he knew it, he was encased in vines of pure darkness.

"What the hell?!"

How were these vines touching him? He wasn't in his physical form! He had to free himself!

Samael let out a mighty roar, releasing his true power, causing the realm to quiver slightly, but the vines were unfazed.

"What is this? What's happening?!"

The vines began to transport him to the massive sphere of black in the sky. For the first time, Samael felt distressed at his own situation and panicked. He trashed and struggled, but all to no avail. No matter how much his strength was amped up by his anger, he still could not do anything to those vines.

The closer he got to sphere, the less stable he became. He felt chills running up and down his spine. He saw visions flashing before his very eyes. Visions horrible enough to scare even him, the Evil Intention of God.

It was as if the sphere was draining him of everything, the closer he got to it: strength, body, mind, soul.

With one last bit of determination left, Samael shot all of his remaining power up in the form a beam. It broke through the sky of the realm, leaving a small crack.

"No! No, no, no, no, NO! The curse...Agh...I still haven't! Father! Father, please help m-!"

The vines threw Samael into the sphere. He screamed for a brief moment as he was consumed by it, before everything swiftly went silent again.

The Dragon Eater was no more.


	2. Chapter 2

**Soku**

"So, this is the so-called realm of the damned in Shintoism- Soku?"

Nobody answered Cao Cao's question. Everyone was too indulged in the visage of the unfamiliar realm which they had entered. As their minds processed the bizarre sights around them, the group began to feel an ever-growing dreadful itch pricking at their sub-consciousness.

"Huh, does anyone get a weird, sorta 'iggly-diggly' feeling about this?" George asked with a forced chuckle. He was brutally ignored.

"You sure this is where Amenominakanushi went to?" Vali looked at Issei and then back at the nightmarish and grisly-looking domain of shadows. Albion's host couldn't help but scrunch his nose in revulsion. "Doesn't really seem like a place a primordial god of creation would go to for relaxation after a tough battle. More like a jail for ghouls and extra dimensional entities."

George and Leonardo looked at one another, showing open fear of the implications.

"Yeah, this is the place. It's where his energy signature last appeared."

"What if-What if he has already moved to another realm?" George intercepted to add this very important question.

"If he moved, I'd know. He has to be hiding somewhere here."

Cao Cao crossed his arms, brows furrowing in contemplation just like they had when Issei had told them of Amenominakanushi's possible wereabouts. He was skeptical of it all, to say the least. The whole situation just spelled weird and shady business to him.

"How did you even manage to open a portal to this place?" he questioned the Solar God, while walking next to him, "Realms like these are hardly reachable, even by the most powerful beings in the world."

Issei opened his mouth as of to answer, but then a thought crossed his mind and he promptly closed it shut, leaving the Strongest Hero to ache with confusion.

They travelled through Soku in silence for the next few minutes. Cao Cao and George eyed the surroundings with great interest and trepidation. The shadow-shrouded forests filled with wandering glowing eyes and creatures that were complete oddities to the two humans.

"As much as this place gives me the creeps...It is fascinating, isn't it?"

Leonardo hummed in quiet agreement to George's heed. After a few seconds of contemplation, George continued on.

"...I never knew such a realm existed...Cao Cao, remember when we visited Tartarus and Cocytus?"

"Yes, George...I do remember our little misadventures in the lower circles of the christian and greek hells."

"Oh yeah..." the human laughed awkwardly, "Can't believe we almost died for a few drops of Samael's blood."

_(Wait, so you were the ones providing the Khaos Brigade with samples of Samael's blood.)_

"Uh...yeah?"

Vali and Issei stopped for a second to look at the members of the Hero Faction. Weary ire was plastered on the White Dragon Emperor's face.

"Ok, anymore discreet past misdeeds you might have done that could have accidently spelled the end of existence as we know it?"

"Oh, that's everythi-!"

"Actually, we did assist Rizevim Livan Lucifer with extracting a piece of the Holy Grail, which might have helped him revive the Evil Dragons."

"Cao Cao!"

Issei stepped in the conversation, feigning to ask about the only thing he found intriguing. Next to him, Vali glowered at the humans with a subtle threatening aura.

"I thought you worked for Hades and Indra only?"

"We did, but Indra and Hades weren't above using your grandfather's services and making deals with his little organization," Cao Cao explained and looked at Vali, "to further increase their sphere of influence. The places we assaulted under the Khaos Brigade's orders would then be claimed by Indra, Hades or any of the other glory-seeking deities."

_(So there are other deities who might wish to conquer the world?)_

"Yeah. Amenominakanushi might not be the only god we should worry about. And with the whole fiasco with the Sun he caused, these gods might start getting bolder."

Everyone turned to Issei, eyes cautious yet equally judgemental, as if asking him: 'What do you think? What is your priority at the moment?'. The reply came shortly after a prolonged pause.

"Let's focus on finding Amenominakanushi. We might be closer than we think."

Cao Cao eyed the Solar God as he turned to move forward. Once again, confusion shinned in those orbs of sight.

'What's going on with him?'

Nevertheless, the five advanced further, getting closer and closer to a very special location.

_(What gives, Ddraig? You have been silent ever since the fusion of the blades.)_

A grunt echoed through the mental link.

_{I have been busy getting used to some new company here. They are...quite a handful to deal with. Even more so than the Oroch-IAGH!}_

_[Be sssilent, Red Dragon!]_

_{I will not! Not when you are acting like a total snake!}_

A gasp resonated from Divine Dividing.

_(You...Did you just use the S-word, Ddraig?)_

_{Come now, it isn't such a big de-AAALH!}_

Though it remained unseen, the screams that echoed from Issei's mindscape over to Albion spoke volumes of the torture his fellow Heavenly Dragon was put through.

_{W-Where the hell...did you learn to bite like that?! Ough!}_

_(Yamata-no-Orochi...ehem, is something bothering you?)_

_[Yesss! Gram isss being mean to me! Ssso vain!]_

_{Well, duh, they are a sword designed specially to kill our kin! What the hell did you expect? A friendly hug? A pat on the head?}_

_[Yesss.]_

_{...}_

_(Ha ha ha ha…!)_

_{Stop laughing, idiot!}_

_(Make me, red buffon! Ba ha ha!)_

_{Now I wish Amenominakanushi had destroyed you...}_

'Guys, there's no time for this kind of stuff!' finally said a now very peeved Issei.

'Yeah, I'm honestly surprised you are in the mood to be making jokes, considering the situation.' Vali added, having been a victim to the dragons' banter due to his connection with Albion.

_(Hey, we turned Amenominakanushi into a joke himself, forcing him to run away like a coward.)_

_{Not to mention with partner back, stronger than he has ever been and in possession of the Demon Sword, we don't have anything to fear.}_

'I guess...It just seems weird for you to underestimate him so much.'

_(Eh...if we could almost take him out on our own, with Issei Hyoudou's help, it should be an effortless task.)_

'Still, we are talking about Amenominakanushi...If he is crazy enough to release Samael, who knows what he might do to gain even more power.'

_{On that we can agree...}_

Everyone stepped when Issei suddenly froze, putting a hand to cut their path.

"Why did we stop?" asked George. Issei simply pointed up ahead at the sky, where a massive sphere of eyesoring darkness floated immobile. The object of black was sucking on unimaginable amount of energy from the lake of souls.

"A tartarusivertex? How is one here?"

"A what?"

George groaned and palmed his forehead.

"A soulnado - an enormous swirl comprised of billions of souls damned to lower regions of hell. We encountered a few in Tartarus. It is where it got its official namesake from."

"Which we invented." Cao Cao added with a discreet sense of pride.

"Meh, I'd rather stick to 'soulnado'. It's easier to remember, anyways." Vali retorted, causing an eye-twitch from the Strongest Human.

"This one is a far bigger than the ones we saw in Tartarus, though. There's gotta be at least a trillion souls in there."

Issei finally spoke up as he pointed at the sphere once more.

"Amenominakanushi is likely hiding in that black balloon over there."

"You think he's using the souls to empower himself?" Cao Cao asked.

"No. I think I'll got there, find him and beat the crap out of him." Issei retorted in the calmest and chilliest voices he has over pulled.

He summoned the Demonic Kusanagi in his hands. It's red and black aura flared out, causing the nearby inhabitants of the realm to cower in fear.

"Hyoudou wait! I don't like how that thing looks. We should examine first, before we-"

A gust of wind was blown, and the next time the other four opened their eyes, they saw Issei flying with immense speeds at the massive sphere of darkness.

"-do something reckless."

"Is he always like that in battles?" George asked.

"No, he is usally a bit more cautious...Then again, he might have a plan I don't know about yet. He has pulled some crazy shit before." Vali answered, jutting out his wings of Lucifer and preparing to take flight, but stopping when he noticed something.

Issei, on the other hand, reacted a bit too slowly and the energy blast targeting him hit him square in the face. He landed gracefully on the feverish grounds of Soku, unscathed.

Issei glared up coolly at the hundreds of thousands of dark figures that cropped up. A moment later, his allies appeared as well.

"Well I'll be damned. George didn't worsen the situation this time." Vali commented humourously.

"Yay..." the magician mumbled unenthusiastically, more unnerved by the number of creatures surrounding them than Vali's rudeness. Next to him, Leonardo had a silent 'What the heck are these things?' expression on his face.

_[Shitdigma!]_

"What?" mouthed Cao Cao.

_[The Shitdigma! Ghostsss! Evil and destructive sssoulsss! Be wary!]_

_{Are you saying these are the souls of beings who have committed heinous crimes during their lifetime?}_

_(It would make sense, given the realm's primary function.)_

"WHO DARES TO TRESPASS?!"

Two pairs of red feet, thrice as large as a human's, slammed into the ground from above. A storm of blue wind and red thunder washed over the Solar God's crew in harmless waves thanks to the protection of Issei's barrier.

When the commotion stopped, two red-skinned oni, one strapped with four giant traditional drums and the other carrying a sort of bag full of magical wind, stepped up and glared cross-armed at their unwanted visitors.

"WHOEVER YOU ARE, WHEREVER YOU COME FROM, FOR WHATEVER REASON YOU ARE HERE..." the drum-wearing oni began, followed by his twin.

"LEAVE, NOW!"

Cao Cao inspected the two demons curiously and his eyes widened as he quickly came to realize who they were facing. Next to him, George and Leonardo had a similar reaction. No doubt the Orochi did, too.

"Raijin and Fujin...The Oni Brother Kings. One is the Primordial Shinto god of Thunder, and the other - of the wind. According to some sources, they witnessed the creation of the world and have fought with the Kotoamatsukami on several occasions."

Issei's interest was only peaked for a brief second at the last sentence, before he resumed glaring at their assailants. A grunt came from the White Dragon Emperor.

"So what, are they as tough as Amenominakanushi? Because from what I'm sensing, they are quite a bit below him, even when he wasn't fused with Samael."

"Judging your enemies based on their raw power level is your fatal flaw, Vali Lucifer. We know next to nothing about their abilities, other than the fact that they are lightning and wind-based." Cao Cai retorted with a half-jeer.

"It also doesn't help that there are literally a hundred thousand or so enemies on every side!" George added in distress.

"That's you guys are here, though. To deal with the fodder." Vali said with an amused smirk.

"HEY, you take that ba-"

"SILENCE!"

"BEGONE OR FACE THE CONSEQUENCES OF ENTERING THE FORBIDDEN LANDS OF DARKNESS!"

"WE...AND THE SHITDIGMA, ARE ETERNAL PRISONERS TO THIS REALM!"

"BUT WE HAVE A DUTY HERE, AS WELL!"

"WE SERVE OUR MASTER, THE GODDESS OF MALICE ITSELF AND WE ACT UPON HER WILL!"

"BY HER MAJESTY'S ORDERS, NONE OF THE LIVING OR THE DIVINE ARE WELCOME IN THIS REALM!"

"SO, INSOLENT FIENDS, SCURRY BACK TO THE WORLD OF LIGHT..."

"OR BE DESTRO-AAAAAAAAAAGH!"

"GAAAAAH!"

Two deep cuts appeared along their entire torsos, causing the two severe pain and cutting them off from their prolonged tirade.

Raijin and Fujin growled in pain and covered the places were the damage was most severe with their ogre-like palms. Raijin's eye widened as it caught a glimpse of spiky pink hair and a crimson aura, right before a crimson energy-imbued fist collided with it.

"BROTHER-OOF!"

A leg smashed in Fujin's face, sending the demon god flying hundreds of feets away. Angered, Raijiin quickly thrusted one hand forward and beat one of the drums. A massive energy blast infused with deep blue and yellow lightning was shot at the flashing pink figure.

"DIE!"

Issei effortlessly caught the intense blast in his hand and crushed it with ease, all the while glaring at the Thunder God. Raijin gasped in horror as he witnessed that and backpedaled.

"B-BUT HOW?! KIRIN - THE PRIMORDIAL LIGHTNING, HAD NO EFFECT ON YOU?! IMPOS-"

He was cut off as a pink blast of energy, ten times bigger than Raijin's own blast, hit him straight in the face. The explosion was big and blinding. At it's epicenter, Raijin trashed and screamed as his body was disintegrated to dust.

Not a moment later and a second explosion went off in the distance, where Fujin had probably landed.

After both brothers were brutally destroyed by the Solar God, absolute silence ensued. Even Issei's own allies stared at him in shock and a good dose of horror.

"Bloody hell!" Cao Cao exclaimed.

"H-He certainly isn't pulling any punches, isn't he...?" George uttered in complete bafflement.

Issei stood in silence, his back turned to his comrades, contemplating over something.

'Ddraig, Orochi? Do you know who the Shinto Goddess of Malice is?'

[_No._]

{_Not sure partner. I, for once, have no memory of such a deity._}

The Solar God hummed and looked up, completely ignoring the thousands of Shitdigma still encircling his vicinity. As Vali had said, they were just fodder that would only slow him down and he couldn't destroy all of them at once, else he risks harming his allies. He'd just waste this form's energy for nothing. Thankfully, both sides were hesitating at the moment, thanks to stunt he pulled off.

The pitch solid black sphere in Soku's sky, though, was an entirely different story. The sensation Issei got from it when he tried to analyze it was...hollowness...vast empty hollowness.

'It's like a blank space in existence...Kinda reminds me of Ophis-hime and Kami-san, but...even colder.'

That wasn't meant as an offense to his wife. Issei was well aware of the concept she represented and made a visual comparison with the country-sized sphere.

Upon a more careful observation, Issei could actually see that the vast energy he was sensing was just at the outer layers of the sphere. The inside was completely obscured to him. Like...it wasn't even there.

With no sign or warning, Issei steeled himself and flew off in record-breaking speed, leaving his four comrades to stare at his blurred form from the ground.

"And there he goes again..." Cao Cao muttered. He felt like the expression of weary irritation would be his normal one from now on. Leonardo and George looked to Vali for answers, but the White Dragon Emperor merely shrugged.

At that moment all of the Shitdigma let out a deafening ghastly howl that made the Solar God's allies wince and leapt from their posts in an amazing display of superhuman agility.

"They're trying to slow him down." Vali said, immediately picking on the ghouls' plan.

"Is that a bad thing? I mean, I would thank them at this point." Cao Cao muttered next to him, earning a glare from Vali, which he returned in kind with a completely composed sneer.

"Guys, now isn't really the time for this! We gotta focus on helping Issei Hyoudou out!"

(_As painful as it is for me to admit it openly, the magician is right. Issei Hyoudou does things for a reason. He must've caught on a trail of sorts._)

"Yeah, but at this point, do any of us really need to be here?" Cao Cao shot back. Before Vali could make another snarky remark, George cut in to answer.

"Well, we're here anyways, so we might as well do something remotely useful."

"...Toche." both Cao Cao and Vali said in unison after a second of silence. A couple more seconds later and the vast mass of Shitdigma chasing after Issei was struck from behind by a smaller in quantity but comparable in quality army of Anti-Monsters.

As the Anti-Monsters and the Shitdigma engaged in a fairly even battle, Vali, Cao Cao and George flanked the evil souls and fired all their firepower at them. The Shitdigma's numbers were peeled off in a record-breaking pace.

Issei looked back for a split second, a tiny smirk of appreciation on his face which faded as quickly as it came, his attention once more focused solely on the sphere of darkness. As he advanced speedily towards it, the grounds of Soku rumbled, as if an earthquake of unimaginable magnitude had hit, and the cause unveiled itself all too soon for even the mighty Solar God to react.

Vines of darkness, of protruding sizes and shapes and of immeasurable number, erupted from below his feet and struck at one point, aiming at one being - Issei. The Solar God, caught initially off guard, was grazed a couple of times, but he quickly got back up and retaliated against the endless onslaught. Letting his fingers tighten and loose around the hilt of the Demonic Kusanagi, channeling his power through the blade, merging it with the abilities of Balmung and Tyrfing and directed it all in the vines' directions.

The fields were clear of rotten darkness now, but newer vines simply sprouted out seemingly out of thin air.

"Damn..." Issei cursed, getting a tad worried. The vines were easy enough to deal with, but he knew if he were to be ensnared by just one of them, it'd spell trouble for him.

Once again, using the power of his Morning Star transformation in tandem with the abilities of the Demon Swords, Issei effectively burned down the last wave of vines. And like that, even a bigger number replaced the previous.

'This isn't good...I'm just wasting energy on these things.'

{I suggest we attack the sphere head-on partner.}

Following his dragon friend's advice, Issei flared out his aura in order to stun the approaching vines and flew up high above, nearing the sphere. Looking at it from so up close, Issei felt a sick churn in his stomach and saw faint flashes of horrid apparitions appearing at the corner of his eyesight.

{Partner, don't loose focus! It's just trying to mess with your head!}

'I...know...' Issei said, though he felt as if though he was already nearing his limits, despite barely exuding one fourth of the Morning Star form's power. It was at that moment of hesitation that Issei was finally struck from behind by three sharp vines with needle-like tips.

"Aaaaagh!"

Issei hollered in pain as zillions of vines pierced through nearly every part of his body. Head to toe, torso to hips, buttocks to balls, nothing was left unscathed. Saliva and blood dripped down the boy's open mouth, as he was repeatedly stabbed like a murder victim. With this vulnerability, his mind was furiously attacked by many contrived and non-sensical visions of the maliciousness of the world.

{_Partner!_}

[_Isssei!_]

His mind in a painful haze, Issei barely registered his dragons' cries of worry. This type of pain heavily reminded the Solar God of the moment Amenominakanushi obliterated the Sun.

"N-nnn_AAAAAAAH_!"

Being reminded of the time of his breaking point, Issei's wrath brought forth a power that was able to resist even the brutal onslaught of the immeasurable darkness. The power...of the Solar God's will to fight through!

"_HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH_...!"

As he let out a roar that shook Soku and echoed through Yomi until it was carried to the Peninsula of Creation, the unfathomable energy he hosted in his tiny body burst out in all directions. The explosion was so bright and intense, the colors of the universe were briefly dried out to simple white and black.

Supernatural beings and humans throughout the entire Universe felt the ripple effect of that finishing attack. And though they did not know where it had come from, they all looked on in awe and shivered. It was only for a split second. One might've even missed it if they were asleep. But it was there and the impact was tremendous.

* * *

**Earth**

Now in a more secluded area, though next to a very specific place, Kami-Musubi's eyes had widened along with her creepy yet serene smirk.

"_Ara ara_...I have not felt such large amounts of energy be released since Amenominakanushi fought Amatsu-Mikaboshi." she brought her knees closer to her chest in a child-like manner, "This is getting more and more intriguing by the minute."

That said, there was a reason she was currently sitting on a half-frozen tree branch next to a school building. This was the educational center in which that godling visited oftenly. But there was also another peculiar visitor in it now.

The ominously melodic goddess hummed and lifted her perky form into the ever so warming air.

"I suppose I may pay my former protege a visit."

* * *

Azazel's Lab

"Whoa, what the hell was that?!" Azazel exclaimed after the rumbling finally stopped. A cough brought him out of his bravado.

Turning around and seeing how he had accidentally latched onto Izanami's collar in the panic, Azazel leapt back a good few feet away to avoid a potential face-destroying punch to...well, his face!

He wasn't the only one who had used the Goddess of Life and Death as a leverage though. Asia, the poor girl, was currently hidden in Izanami's skirts. The goddess, for her part, mostly ignored the girl shivering in her rear.

"There usually isn't any seismic activity in this part of Japan. Plus the shockwave was so strong yet so...sudden. There is always a 'quiet before the storm' moment with powerful earthquakes." Azazel mumbled intelligibly, trotting back and forth like a hysterical scientist, which ironically, he currently was. His eyes briefly snapped to Izanami, but she shot down his hopes with a shake of her head.

"I am not sure either...It could've been anything, really."

"Oh Izanami, innocent and naive as always...even as a beautiful woman, you are still the young girl I instructed all those eons ago." echoed a melodic voice through the lab.

"That voice!" Izanami froze startled and looked all around, "K-Kami-Musubi?!"

Azazel looked at the goddess with a baffled expression.

"What?"

The Fallen Angel General went deadly still as he felt a new presence enter his lab. He turned around and gasped as he saw a young woman with a petite body and long black hair standing in front at the entrance of the lab.

'So...this is Kami-musubi, huh? One of Amenominakanushi's colleagues...'

Azazel gulped. Her power level put Izanami's to shame. True, the Goddess of Death and Life was still recovering, but Azazel had a feeling that even at her strongest, Izanami's power would still be a tenth of Kami-musubi's.

'Her energy signature is otherworldly!'

The only beings he knew with a power level of this high velocity were the Great Red, the Trihexa, Ophis, The Biblical God, The Buddha and the Trimuti. It was something infinitely out of his league and way above the combined forces of the current leaders of the Underworld and Heaven.

Thankfully, the Goddess of Creation seemed to ignore him, as if staring through him, at Izanami. Levitating in midair, Kami-Musubi closed the distance between her and Izanami. She took a hold of the younger goddess' chin.

"My, my...it's been a while since I've since that beautiful face of yours. But you do appear to be in a rough shape. Let me fix that for you, my dear."

Kami-Musubi grinned sensually before bringing their lips together. Izanami's horrified gasp was muffled by the elder goddess inserting her tongue in her mouth. Azazel and Asia watched the intimate interaction with blushed cheeks. After a few seconds of sloppy kissing, Kami-Musubi broke apart, letting Izanami take a breath.

"Okay...hm...that was..." Azazel began, not sure how to describe what he just saw.

"A fun little healing technique." Kami-Musubi said, her red eyes not leaving Izanami's terrified expression. She sensually licked her lips. "I invented it together with Amenominakanushi and Takami-Musubi during one of our many courting sessions."

"C-Courting...sessions?!"

"Why yes, my dear. Lust is surprisingly effective when it comes to energy transfer."

"I-I don't understand, Mistress, why have you returned?"

"The fight between the Sun girl's child and my compeer has well gone out of control and thus has peaked my interest."

"So...do you know what caused those tremors earlier?" Azazel awkwardly cut in the already awkward conversation between the two goddesses.

"Why yes, it was the same boy I mentioned."

"What?" Izanami and Azazel asked in disbelief. "Issei Hyoudou/My grandson caused this?!"

Kami-Musubi giggled at their reactions. She closed her eyes and clapped her hands.

"_He he he_...We are going to have a lot of catching up to do."

* * *

**Filler Omake**

Issei set his attention to George with a questioning look.

"George, can you tell me more about the swords?"

"Uhm…yeah, sure. I'll help as much as I can." George responded, nervous and slightly uncertain of himself. Rubbing the back of his head, he took a breath and looked directly at Issei. "So…ask away."

The first sword Issei's eyes landed on was the big red one in the middle. For some reason, Issei was enticed by it the most out of the five swords. Amongst its 'brethren', it's menacing aura and dark energy seemed to be the biggest, outscaling the others by a noticeable margin. Pointing at it, he asked George about it.

"Oh…that's Gram. Out of the all the Demon Swords, this one's the most powerful and its effects have the biggest impact. That ominous crimson glow you see around it? That stuff is hotter than the flames of the Phenex clan. Oh, it was also used to slay down many fallen angels and dragons."

As George finished his explanation on Gram, Issei felt a bit put off by the weapon's history which seemed to be stained in the blood of many. It was even more off-putting for the Solar God considering this was the blade that, as George had explained, was named after his 'second parent'- the Sun. It was slightly sickening how the Sun was associated with both good and sometimes unsettling things.

"Since Amenominakanushi now carries the traits of both races, Gram would be quite effective against him." Vali added. Issei dryly nodded his head in understatement. He wasn't enthusiastic to use Gram, but if it would increase their chances of finally getting rid of that vile bastard for good, then he'd force himself to stoop that low if he really had to. Slowly, Issei's gaze travelled back to the rest of the swords.

"The two swords right next to Gram are Dáinsleif and Nothung." George said as he bend down a little and pointed tapped the two swords which had a nearly identical purplish aura. The difference was that one was somewhat tiny compared to the other swords, while the other looked like a regular sword if its menacing aura was ignored. "Dáinsleif- the smaller one, is a sword that specializes in creating huge pillars of ice. It's pretty similar to one of the Devil Kings' abilities."

"Ah yes, Serafall Stiri-'Leviathan'. I do recall that you two share some familiarity with one another." Vali said, combating a small amused smile. Issei blinked in slight confusion. It's been a long time since he has thought about any of the Devil Kings. Hey, it wasn't his fault he couldn't remember the thousands of entities that seemed enticed in him. Still, he could clearly recall Serafall with her innocent wit and powerful freezing magic.

"Y-yeah…" he agreed timidly, not knowing what to think of it. "Anyways, what about Nothung, George?"

"It specializes in sharpness."

A small awkward silence followed. To Issei, and maybe even Vali, it just sounded a bit silly, considering what threat they were up against. Issei shook his head, putting the questions regarding the sword's usefulness in the back of his mind.

"Go on, George."

"Yeah, so…this right here…is Balmung" the magician said, landing his index finger on the polished surface of the largest of the Demon Swords. It was wide, unusually wide for a sword. It was mostly colored in deep navy blue, though its edges retained the platinum color normal swords have. It's crystal-blue aura was somehow different from the rest, appearing to be almost swirling on itself. "This is a Norse sword with a powerful drill-like aura. As you can see, even in its passive state its capable of creating strong whirlwinds."

"I recognize the last one. It's Tyrfing, isn't it?" Cao Cao suddenly asked next to Issei, prompting George to humbly nod his head in confirmation. Issei gazed at Tyrfing. It was a dark silverish blade with a flaring green aura. The aggressive movements of the aura reminded Issei of a bomb that's ready to explode and destroy everything around it.

"Tyrfing mainly focuses on bringing destruction and laying waste to the opponent. It's effective against multiple enemies, though it falls short against skill-based counter-attacks. It's also quite slow to replenish its destructive energy."

"Individually, the swords wouldn't be that useful against someone like Amenominakanushi. He'd brush them off like nothing. But if you manage to use them in sync with your newfound power…" Vali continued Geoerge's culminating explanation which was then finally concluded by Issei himself.

"Then victory will be as good as ours."


	3. Chapter 3

The world was ablaze. The ground, littered with corpses - of friends and people he didn't know, of beautiful creatures and feral beasts, of beings thought all-powerful, now completely impotent. No matter where he looked, from which perspective he looked, it was all an apocalyptic wasteland.

Alone he stood, with a faint glow of power in his heart, so small it could not even radiate any heat. Alone he stood, facing a pair. An impossibly white masculine entity and a pitch black feminine one standing next to it.

The two all-powerful entities extended their hands and fired an energy beam that would destroy all that was and wasn't. He, was powerless to stop them. Because, alone he stood.

* * *

**Phoenix Mansion**

Issei woke up with a hitched gasp of horror and slowly halted to a calmer disposition once he noticed everything he had experienced was a mere nightmare.

He saw that he was back in his room and was both shocked and delighted to see his closest family members - Leiko, Ophis-hime and Big Bro Red huddled around him like loving cats. But then, a question arose in his head- two actually: What happened? How did he get here?

The answers were given by his loyal dragonic buddy - Ddraig.

_{Welcome back to the walking world, partner.}_

'Ddraig? What...What happened?' Issei grunted as his head buzzed painfully. It's as if though he had woken up after chugging ten liters of russian vodka.

_{A lot, actually, all the while you slept like a deadman.}_

Issei would've normally given a slight chuckle at the remark, but he felt too strained to express any emotion other than mild confusion.

'Ugh...All I remember was releasing all the energy of the Morning Star transformation into a hypernova-like explosion.'

_{Ah, yes, that was a grand spectacle to witness with my own eyes.}_

_[Ssstupid Isssei!]_

'Orochi-chan?'

_[Alwaysss ssso recklesss!]_

_{She has a point, Issei. That was really rash what you did in Soku. You could've killed everyone present, yourself included.}_

Issei let out another grunt. This again, the talk about taking risks. He didn't want to argue with them about that.

'Are...Are Vali and the others okay?'

_{Well, I can still sense that white bastard's presence and the Will of God hasn't dwindled either, so they should be fine. Moreover, how are you partner?}_

'Hung as fuck…' Issei uttered in his mind, rehearsing his big brother's phrasing when he woke up once after a night of partying wildly with Odin, Thor and Fafnir.

_{Using crude language, are we? In any case, I'm relieved. For a moment, I almost thought I lost you, again.}_

'Ddraig, I appreciate your concern, but you know I've faced worse…'

Now that was something both could silently agree on. The torment which Amenominakanushi put Issei through in that cave was unspeakable to both. So, after a few seconds, Ddraig averted the topic to something else.

_{The Great Red and Ophis came to pick you up minutes after the explosion had subsided. Vali Lucifer and the other three must have informed them of your whereabouts.}_

A slight frown appeared on Issei monotonous face.

'Shit...I was supposed to return to them...not the other way around. In the end, I failed to keep my promise, didn't I?'

_[Ssstupid!]_

_{Partner, don't undermine your achievements like that. You did all you could, all of us did. You are one of the most powerful beings I have EVER come across partner, and yet, even you have your limits.}_

'...At least tell me that Amenominakanushi was destroyed in that blast.'

_{We...aren't sure. Nobody is. His energy signature hasn't been felt by anyone. Even the Great Red couldn't find him. But in the process of you releasing all your energy outwards, Soku was completely destroyed, along with that sphere. So...as far as it concerns us, Amenominakanushi is no longer a problem.}_

He said that, but Issei could clearly make out the reluctance in his tone - the uncertainty. The news of Soku's absolute destruction were a surprise, for sure, and relieving one at that, but Issei highly doubted that was the last they would see of the mad god.

_{Issei...I'm glad you're ok.}_

'Thanks, Ddraig...I...I'm sorry. I know how worried you and Orochi-chan were about me when I was...not there with you and Vali to fight Amenominakanushi-'

_[Very worried!]_

'-And I'm sorry that I made you endure one battle right after the other, with Indra, Izanami, Amenominakanushi, Samael and the demons of Soku. You've always supported me through this sorta stuff. I wish I could somehow return the favor.'

_{Oh, partner...You being my host is more than enough of a blessing. And I think the Orochi shares my view, too. Isn't that right?}_

_[Yesss! Isssei good friend!]_

_{See, she agrees with me...for once.}_

_[Welsssh Dragon...]_

_{Ku ku ku, relax 'Orochi-chan', I'm just teasing.}_

A second later, a shrill cry of pain, very ill befitting of a Heavenly Dragon echoed throughout Issei's mindscape.

_{What was that for?!}_

Inside the seals of the Kusanagi, the Yamata-no-Orochi puffed her slightly flushed cheeks in a cutely frustrated manner.

_[Ssstupid Welsssh Dragon...]_

The dragons' usual escapades brought forth a small smile on the Solar God's otherwise exhausted face. He looked sideways towards the only window in the room, where moonlight seeped in like a fountain of silver. Issei winced, not enjoying the glow of the Moon.

Though...seeing it brought a sense of relief in the Solar God. It was nighttime. And if the Moon was visible that meant that it reflected the light from the Sun.

'So the Phoenix Tears did heal Mom and the other solar deities...Phew, good to know.'

With the mention of his biological mother, Issei's eyes snapped open and he nearly jumped out of the bed.

'Oh shit, I have to check on Mom!'

With no second thoughts, and before Ddraig could object to it, Issei snapped his fingers and transmitted away from the bedroom. A clone of him was left to attend to his sleeping loved ones.

* * *

**Amaterasu's mansion**

The doors to his mother's mansion burst open as the massive energy signature of Issei Hyoudou flooded the building, sending nearby maids into an unnecessary alarm. The headmaid panicked, ready to send the guards, until she recognized the presence she felt.

"Oh..." the woman uttered, before smiling, "Master Issei has come to visit Lady Amaterasu."

A moment later, said godling, showed up on the floor entrance, where the woman's desk was placed. Sending a warmth yet somewhat nervous glance at the hurrying young man, the headmaid pointed towards the last room of the floor and the entire mansion.

When Issei got to the door, he pushed it open gently and slowly, careful not to give his mother a heart attack. When Issei saw Amaterasu laying in a queen-sized bed of luscious material, a smile crept up his lips, which turned into a mild frown as he saw an unfamiliar man sitting next to her, stroking her cheek.

Upon sensing the powerful presence that was Issei, Amaterasu and the man both flinched and looked at his direction. The two were equally stupefied to see him, but soon after their faces changed into two completely opposing expressions.

"Issei! My little Sun!" Amaterasu exclaimed and her face almost glowed like the Sun, brimming with happiness and affection.

"Nephew...You have recovered." the white-haired man next to her huffed slightly, a stiff sneer on his cold face.

For the moment, Issei managed to ignore the white-haired elephant in the rom and scurried over to his beloved mother. Amaterasu embraced her child in a loving hug, their mutual love for one another warming the room a little, making the man wince.

"Oh my sweet child, I am so relieved to see you alive and well." Amaterasu said while nuzzling his neck, then she leaned back and slapped her son on the back of his head, prompting an amused smile from the white-haired man. "This is for making your mother worried sick!"

The man who observed their interaction let out a reserved snicker.

"Not that she wasn't already sick."

Both solar deities stared at the third party, unamused frowns on their faces.

"Brother, if you have any love for me, you would shut up and leave the room."

Issei blinked once, a look of mild surprise appearing on his face, and looked at said 'brother'.

"Brother? Does that mean you are-"

"Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto, your second uncle."

"And Yoru's father." Issei added kindlessely, subtly nitpicking at the god's failure as a father.

"And your former step-father." Tsukuyomi retorted just as coolly, his eyes half-lidding as if telling the boy:'Know your place'

"That doesn't even make sense. Your marriage with Mom was broken way before I and Yoru were born."

Tsukuyomi's brows furrowed in confusion. He opened it his mouth to say something, but then sealed it shut. He was, quite honestly, at a loss of words at the Solar godling's one-track mind.

"Oh, my little Sun..." Amaterasu said with a mirthful giggle before she looked at Tsukuyomi with undue smugness on her face. Tsukuyomi scrunched his nose, rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue for a very brief moment. Really unfitting of two heads of a powerful faction, Ddraig thought inside his seals, a somewhat bemused smile on his scaly face.

Amaterasu's hands grasped Issei's. The Solar God turned and frowned as he saw a saddened look on his mother's face.

"My Sun...we heard about what happened that day."

Issei bit his lip, his form stiffening a little.

"All of it?"

Amaterasu nodded, her eyes already watering. Of course, Tukuyomi was the one to ruin the touching moment.

"Yeah, that is something we will have to discuss..."

Amaterasu glared up at him.

"Tsukuyomi..."

But the Moon God had already made up his mind to chide Issei about his 'mistakes'.

"Okay, so first we are told that you fought Izanami-no-Mikoto in Yomi and allegedly freed her from there. Then, you had an unfortunate encounter with Amenominakanushi."

"Tsukuyomi…" Amaterasu's tone now had a threatening edge to it, even though she could do nothing to stop his tirade.

"Then, after being destroyed in a rather humiliating manner," Tsukuyomi said this part with a hint of amusement.

"Tsukuyomi!"

"Oh keep quiet you woman, he is not a naive little brat anymore! Anyways…" the Moon God sighed and looked back at Issei, "You actually found a way to come back by absorbing the very same thing that caused your untimely demise. And this all lead to a very contrived string of events which in turn lead to you completely destroying one of our faction's most important realms."

"Did Vali tell you?"

"That host of the dragon Susanoo raised? Yes, he did give me information, but judging from the expression on your face, it was probably a watered down version of it."

Issei gave his uncle a nod to confirm his suspicions. Both gods of opposite elements gazed at one another and even though there was subtle animosity between them, one could see something shifting in Tsukuyomi's expression.

The Moon God sighed and held a hand to his temples.

"To break the curse which father and Izanami had placed on each other, to defy the will of the literal Creator of the Universe-"

_{A bit debatable considering how many 'Creator' deities there are in this Universe.}_ mumbled Ddraig inside Issei's head.

"-to become a living star and to fight the Dragon Eater himself...You must be the most insane individual in our family." he half-sneered half-smiled, "I guess, I can now see why so many being appreciate your existence, loathsome as it is."

Both Amaterasu and Issei leaned back a few inches, expressions wide-eyed. Of all the things Tsukuyomi could've said, this was not something either expected. Even though Issei was meeting the man for the first time, he already knew enough about him to know that he, like most members of his Shinto family, was not delighted at the idea of having him around. But the Moon God somehow managed to subvert both their expectations.

"Um...Thanks, I guess?" Issei said, a scant smile of gratitude appearing on his features. Amaterasu's lips twitched once, but to even attempt to smile at her brother was difficult.

"Yes, well, this is the one and only compliment I'll ever give to you, a son of my...detestable sister." Tsukuyomi spat.

An awkward silence paused between everyone.

_{A slightly offensive compliment from another member of your biological family that wanted you dead mere six months ago...I would say that's a bit progressive!}_

'Honestly Ddraig, I'm fine with everything as long as they aren't out to get anyone I care about...Though he did insult Mom and I ain't happy with that.'

_{Trust me partner...It's better to stay out of that drama. It's not something you should get involved with. Chances are, you'll get the two of them to either kill or hate-furnicate each other.}_

'Hate...furnicate?'

"Tsukuyomi?" Amaterasu asked as she stretched her back in her bed.

"What is it? Are you hungry? Do you want to play with the Daruma? Do you need to relieve yourself?"

"TSUKUYOMI! Not in front of Issei!" Amaterasu moaned rebukingly. She looked towards her son, flushed with embarrassment.

"What is a Daruma?" the boy innocently asked.

Amaterasu's head hung low and she groaned, her cheeks reddening even more as her brother let out a series of quiet prickish chuckles.

"Just a silly little gift from our father before he passed away, which Amaterasu still favors to this day. Honestly, she's always been a bit of a spoiled princess." Tsukuyomi answered with a slight sly smirk, though there was a hint of bitterness at the last part.

Amaterasu to glared coldly at him.

"Your attempts at jesting are pathetic, Tsukuyomi. Your humor is drier than a saru's shit!"

Tsukuyomi's mouth went agape, before he closed it and matched his sister's fierce glare.

"Well, I am sure it is not as dry as that virginal cunt of yours!"

"Your lack of testicles is to blame for that!"

At that moment, Issei felt absolutely obliged to step in between the two. He had to extend his arms to keep them still, because they looked ready to pounce on and tear each other to shreds.

"OKAY, I think this is enough. I'm not really liking where this conversation is heading."

'Holy crap Ddraig...you were right.'

Issei could feel the smirk on Ddraig's face.

_{And when was I ever wrong, partner?}_

"Pft, it's not my fault. She insulted me first."

"Oh, now you are just acting like a child!"

"Enough!" Issei stomped his foot, flaring out a fraction of his true power for a brief second. It was more than enough time to cause intense tremors across the whole building, and Takamagahara, collectively. This was successful in breaking the opposing deities out of their squabble.

'M-My Little Sun...'

'S-Such power...'

Terror was written on both their faces.

"You're both acting like children." Issei then glared directly at Tsukuyomi making him flinch in place. "But you especially should be more respectful. Don't think just because we haven't met, I don't know your story. Ddraig and Ophis-hime told me what you did all those years ago. If you have any love for my Mom, you should be treating her like a damn queen!"

Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu went agape at what Issei said. The Sun Goddess once again blushed with embarrassment.

"Oh, my little Sun...you're so kind." she said as she felt a warm smile creep up her face.

Meanwhile, Tsukuyomi's face was a similar shade of red, though his lips were curling the opposite direction to Amaterasu's.

"T-Tch…'Treat her like a queen'? What do you take me for boy, a moron?!"

_{You are an asshole that couldn't even raise his own son properly. Not to mention you assisted Rizevim in nearly destroying the world and indirectly caused partner's death. Seriously, the only beings more idiotic than you are the aforementioned son of a whore and Amenominakanushi.}_

"Silence you-Wait, on that note, I have to actually agree."

_{Huh?}_

"Releasing two of the deadliest, most destructive beast just to fulfill your own agenda is a pretty stupid thing to do. I mean, even I didn't resort to using Yoru as a tool."

"Tsukuyomi, don't you lie like a common whore." Amaterasu cut-in bluntly.

"Nnngh-Fine! I was planning to use him against you, but only after he learnt how to control his murderous urges. Of course, that plan failed thanks to Rizevim's impatience! And then he went off to reveal his plans to everyone! Honestly, at least I could be given credit for being subtle."

"That still does not allude to the fact that you are a failure as a husband, a brother, a god and a father. You are such a failure that father would've renamed you 'The God of Failures' if he were to see you today." Amaterasu uttered without a shred of compassion on her face. The comment broke Tsukuyomi to the point of freezing his reaction in time.

_{...Gonna need a Phoenix Tear for that one.}_

_[Bad god got dessstroyed!]_

Putting the brutal roast from his mother in the back of his head, Issei thought about something.

"Hey, since we're talking about Yoru...where is he?"

"He is in the Dragon Mountains."

_{Why?}_

"To train with the dragons, obviously."

_{Ah, so partner's already made his third rival.}_

"I thought the host of Albion was his only rival? Who's the second?" Tsukuyomi asked curiously.

_{Cao Cao.}_

"I have never heard that name before."

* * *

**Dragon Mountains**

The icy slopes of the frigid dragon lands quaked beneath the power of two beings. Explosions went off all around them, obliterating entire plateaus the size of Earth islands. If the majority of the dragon kin hadn't been warned beforehand about one of their King's newest sparring partners, they would've easily been wiped out by the ferocity of his power.

The aforementioned two figures clashed a score of times, causing just as many shockwaves that raised forests in the air.

"Hn!"

"Hah!"

After a particularly powerful clash, the two paused to stare down at one another. On the left, there was Tannin - his scaly hide covered in bruises and blood. On the right, there was Yoru, sustaining similar amounts of damage. The Lunar God was in his Super Lunar form.

"Let's go, Yoru. One more time! Hit me with everything you've got right now!"

"Tch-Don't need to tell me, old lizard."

The two fighters glared at one another before they flexed they let out a mighty overlapping roar. The whole range of the Dragon Mountains shook under the weight of their aura.

With a grunt, the two shot towards one another, fists reared back and enveloped in their massive energies. As they neared each other, they extended their arms and-

BOOM!

...

Five minutes later, Yoru could be seen fumbling with a scroll with a Moon crest on it. He was seated casually on top of Tannin, who was laying on the ground, still panting. It was clear who had won that fight.

"Oh, oh, oh...That really...hurt..."

"You had it coming." Yoru muttered dispassionately, his eyes not leaving the contents of the scroll.

Tannin's bones creaked as he attempted to raise his head.

"Heh...Heh heh heh heh..." despite the blood dripping from his mouth, he managed to smile a little at the Lunar God. "Well, would you look at that? In just five days, you've managed to utterly defeat me. You and your cousin aren't that different."

"Psht, we're the gods of two opposing forces, as well as the children of two morons who hate one another. We couldn't be more different." Yoru said with a hint of disgust.

"Even so, you can't deny that you both possess immense prowess."

"That's like saying every human is the same, because they're all equally weak."

"...You know, Yoru, I think it'd do you good to find a dragon for a partner."

"Sorry, but I'm not into lizard bitches like my dumbass cousin is, so I think I'll pass."

"They don't have to be your mate, Yoru. I'm saying having a dragon as a brother-in-arms. Issei Hyoudou and Vali Lucifer have really benefited from their friendship with Ddraig and Albion."

"Yeah, and?"

"And I think it'd be beneficial for you, as well."

"...Why does it have to be a dragon though?"

"Because just like Issei Hyoudou and Vali Lucifer, you're a fighter. A true fighter. And true fighters only get on well with dragons."

"Pfft, bullshit. I'm sure cousin can get any member of any species to suck his tiny-ass dick."

"Ugh...See, Yoru, that's why a dragon would be the best fit for you."

"Yeah, ok, I'll get myself a lizard girlfriend if you're going to bitch so much about it." Yoru groaned and put the scroll away.

"I was not-"

"But it won't be anytime soon. Right now-" he stretched his limbs and hopped up on his feet. "-I gotta train to become stronger."

* * *

**Amaterasu's Mansion**

"So Yoru wants to become stronger, huh?" Issei asked after being informed of his cousin's latent activities. He sighed and put his arms behind his head. "Good for him, I guess...He hasn't hurt anyone has he?"

"Excluding that one feministic goddess...no, no he hasn't. It's strange, really. I believed him to be lost to any and all reason all those months ago...and yet, when we reunited at Mount Kalish he seemed mostly passive...even if a little short-tempered."

_{Partner beating the hell out of his enemies has that effect on them...Maybe you should try that treatment, as well?}_

Tsukuyomi scrunched his nose at the Welsh Dragon's humorous remark and snickered.

"Thanks, but I'll pass." his gaze slowly shifted to his sister, who had fallen asleep shortly after he and Issei began their conversation about Yoru. "My sister had given me enough of a beating as it is."

His fingers traced over a near-unnoticable scar on his left cheek. He recollected the memories of that day - when everything started going downhill fir the Lunar God.

It was just after the battle against Qlippoth. His servants had found him a bloody mess lying on the floor, sprawled like a mutilated animal.

After it had been revealed to the world that Tsukuyomi had assisted the Khaos Brigade, Tsukuyomi's possessions had been given to his now former servants. And for the last six Earth months, Tsukuyomi basically lived in his sister's backyard, surviving off of her maids' kindness.

It was a torturous experience and it didn't help that Amaterasu would hurl blasts at him whenever she spotted him. The whole ordeal certainly altered the Moon God's mindset.

"Are all solar deities in the same state as Mom?" asked Issei.

"No, they are all completely healed…"

"Then why is only Mom like this?"

Tsukuyomi's eyes gained a somber edge to them.

"You must realize that she isn't suffering from physical wounds...but from a detrimental mental strain."

Issei's eyes widened and he felt at disbelief. It took him a moment to decipher the hidden context of his words.

"I-I'm really sorry...I didn't mean to-"

"Save your pitiful apologies for her, nephew." Tsukuyomi cut him coolly. "I'd rather you tell her she needn't worry about anything. I called your mother, as you may recollect, a spoiled princess."

"Yeah, that was quite rude of you…"

"Well, I did mean it as a jestful insult. But it is a fact. Obviously, our 'wise' father adored his daughter. The affection he had for Amaterasu was ten times as much as whatever he felt for me and Susanoo. That adoration spoiled her and made her meek...just like him."

A laugh echoed from the seals of the Demonic Kusanagi.

_{Hold on, is THAT why you three were always bickering? Because 'Daddy' didn't love you equally?}_

"Oh, and I guess your reasoning for fighting Albion goes beyond a simple 'dick measuring contest'?" Tsukuyomi questioned with condescending snark.

_{Tch…}_

Issei's brows furrowed as he listened. He could distinctly recalled the moment Izanagi locked Izanami in Yomi. He felt a lump in his stomach.

"If Mom really resembles grandpa, then she must've taken the news pretty badly."

Tsukuyomi let out a dry chuckle.

"Oh, you wouldn't have wanted to see her. She rambled on and screamed like a madwoman. The servants were scared of entering even the mansion. She was like a banshee. Thanks to Yoru though, we managed to subdue."

Issei stared uneasily at his uncle.

"What did he do?"

"He smashed her face into the floor."

Before, Issei's reaction would've been much fiercer, but after recent developments, he has gained the ability to think more rationally. He trusted that Yoru hadn't hurt her too hard. If it had been the only way then he couldn't hold it against anyone.

_{Speaking of 'the news', what happened to Izanami?}_

"Oh dang, thanks for reminding me Ddraig." thanked Issei. He then turned toward Tsukuyomi, unsure. "She hasn't come here, has she?"

Tsukuyomi's form stiffened briefly.

"No...no she hasn't. I did talk to her though. She doesn't wish to go back to Takamagahara nor does she want to talk to Amaterasu. She wants to stay on Earth."

"Oh, she's on Earth?! Does she have a place to stay? I can let her crash at my place if-"

"No need." Tsukuyomi raised a hand to cut him off. "She mentioned she'll be staying with the Fallen Angel leader Azazel."

"Azazel?!" Issei exclaimed, suddenly horrified.

_{Ooooh shit…}_

"What?"

* * *

**Grigori's quarters**

Izanami sat on the couch some distance away from the slouching fallen angel - a position in which he could always be seen.

Dohnaseek made the astonishing of lifting his eyelids and giving a brief second of attention. It was the strange book which the goddess held that kept his attention for a little while longer.

,"Hey, isn't that…" Dohnaseek narrowed his eyelids which widened as he came to the realization that this was no 'book' at all. " Oh shit, this is one of Azazel's porn magazines. How the hell did you find this shit? He keeps them so well hidden after that accident with your 'grandson'..."

For a while Izanami managed to keep her composure and feign ignorance of the irritating man. But as she read her face grew redder and she couldn't help but ask the fallen angel a question.

"I-It's all just a bunch of...incohesive drawings of maidens being ravished by salacious men! Is this what a 'porn magazine' is?"

"Pretty much." Dohnaseek answered with a shrug.

"A-And that dolt finds these disgusting crafts...appealing?" Izanami asked as if though the notion of connecting the last adjective with the given noun was like tasting venom.

"Oh yeah, a lot. Like 'Take my race, but don't hurt the hentai' kind of lot. Actually…" Dohnaseek leaned forward and saw a scene where an extremely curvy black haired woman was getting fucked doggy style. "I think this is one of his favourite doujinshi. The one with the goddess Izanam-Ah...T-Tell me you didn't hear that last part."

A tense and awfully awkward silence impregnated the scene. For a while, Izanami just stood deathly quiet, the doujinshi depicting her as a degenerate slut still clutched in her hands and Dohnaseek staring at her from the side, a fearful expression on his face.

"Dohnaseek-kun…" Izanami began, her voice dripping with honey. She teleported right in his face and only gasped his shoulder.

"Eeeeeek!" the scream that the man let out was girlier than any sound Asia has ever made. The goddess' candy sweet smile only served terrify him further.

"...Go outside for a walk once Azazel returns. And please, take the girls with you."

"I-I-Izanami-san! Please d-don't do anything you might regret!"

"Oh, I'm sure I won't regret anything."

* * *

**Kuoh Town Park**

An hour and a half later, Dohnaseek was trekking through the snowy alleys of the park, followed by Asia, Miltlet, Rayanare and Kalwaner.

"So, Dohnaseek, why did your randomly decide to pick your lazy ass up and take us on a walk across the whole damn town?" asked an agitated Kalawner.

"No reason…"

'May your soul find peace in the afterlife, Lord Azazel.' Dohnaseek thought somberly.

That cool night, cruelties were committed which led to the urban legend of 'Otoko no Himei' - The Screaming Man.

* * *

**Amaterasu's Mansion**

Issei stood tongue-tied for many long minutes, a thoughtful expression on his face. He observed the conversation the conversation of a maid and a male deity from the window, the kisses they shared, as he reflected on what he'd been told. His uncle stood next to him, just as quiet.

"So, everything managed to sort itself out in the end?"

"Yes, but - and I say that with slight displeasure - it was mostly thanks to you."

_{Mostly.}_

"The host of your rival played a moderately big part, as well."

_{Fair point.}_

"The damage done by our ancestral master is in the process of being reversed. The thousand years old feud of our family has been mostly resolved. My son has returned, better. And honestly, things have started looking better for me in the past few days."

"You're wrong about one thing..." Issei said, already displeased at the thought of it. "The conflicts in the Shinto faction may have been resolved, but I know for a fact that there are still gods and other creatures that might want to fuck shit over."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because Pluto, Hades, Loki, Indra's followers and likely half the Hero Faction has a bone to pick with me. That's not even mentioning all the other evil entities that exist in other factions."

Tsukuyomi looked skeptically at the Solar God.

"Well, there certainly are quite a number of beings like that. Shura, Mara, Kronos, Angra Maniyu all wish to spread destruction and poisonous ideals, but they are kept in check. Why would you think they'd become hyper-active now?"

"Why did the Shinto Creator of Everything decide to come back after years of doing jack shit?"

"Not everything revolves around you, Issei Hyoudou." Tsukuyomi retorted rather sternly, the same air of tone he used whenever he and his sister would discuss Issei or Yoru. Said Solar God simply shook his head.

"I'm not saying that. As Vali would say, it simply makes sense. The world was on the verge of being severely destroyed several times in just one year. If I was in their position, I'd also try to have a shot at free rampage during this time."

"That is...oddly insightful of you." Tsukuyomi muttered as he eyed the Solar God with some curiousity. Slowly, his gaze sombered and turned toward the sleeping form of his adorable sister. "In any case, I sincerely hope what you are professing won't come to pass. I think we can both agree that we've had our fair share of conflicts this one Earthly year."

Like the brief clearing of a cloudy day, a sudden mirth overwrote Issei's expression.

"Oh yeah, definetely."

He then looked back at the window. The couple was still there, nuzzling in each other's warm presence, their shadows dancing like they were bound together. The maid said something that made the man jump in joy. From the way her hand covered her belly, Issei could only make one guess as to what the news were. He imagined himself and Ophis in those two's position.

'Huh...Ddraig? Is it weird?'

_{Is what weird partner?}_

'That I'm suddenly feeling like starting a family.'

* * *

**ExE World, Regalzerva's Council Room**

At the center of an enormous space surrounded by even bigger walls of material resembling a far more advanced version of Earth's stainless steel. These walls were probably wide and thick enough to encapsulate the Moon.

A giant, plateau-sized behemoth, sharing the same properties as the very walls he was surrounded by, toyed with a hologramic game that was very similar to Earth's chess. Suddenly, the mechanical giant's peace was disturbed by an approaching presence, much smaller and hundreds of times weaker than his. The beast let out a huff, his mechanical nostrils releasing thick fogs of smoke the size of city neighbourhoods.

"Is it something urgent, Ruma Ydura? If not, get out of my sight at once."

As the clicking of boots stopped, a figure the height of a street lamp kneeled in front of the giant.

"Sire, we have some important news."

"'Important' you say? So, you found more of those 'hentai' inscriptions then?"

"U-Uhmn...No, sire. We...well, we haven't found another one in quite a while."

"Agh, Medarn it...And here I was hoping to gauge the attributes of those oddly well-designed meat bags drawn on those lists of..."

"Paper."

"Paper, yes." the large beast's body creaked as he leaned back. From what could be inferred of his posture, he was in a very bored mood. "Have the current findings at least been preserved?"

"Oh...uh...n-no, sire. Garvarudan b...burned them o-over a station bet a few Bagoune cycles ago."

"Ah, that is a shame..." an awkward silence ensued as it took the deitific mecha giant a minute to come to a full realization. "WAIT, HE DID WHAT?!"

* * *

**Issei's Apartment**

The brown door to his room let out a small creak as Issei swung it open. Light from the hallway shone through it's untouched darkness, onto the edge of the untouched mattress of his bed.

Tonight, he was expecting no visitors. No...Rather, the Solar God _hoped _he would have no visitors. The majority of his associates didn't even know he had awoken. Good, Issei thought absent-mindedly.

The conversation with his uncle had left him somewhat mentally exhausted. He could only take in so much information in such a short amount of time. As an extension to what he had been told about the people he was most concerned about, Tsukuyomi had also opted to inform him of Shiva's plans to promote Issei to offical godhood. Issei had asked why he needed 'promotion' and Tsukuyomi had explained that the rank of a god was like that of a knight.

In medieval times, a human could literally be a toxic drunkard, but if a well-known and respected lord knighted him, they'd be recognized as a knight almost anywhere. At the same time, an unknighted warrior may be a killing machine and the most noble person on Earth, but he'd be sneered upon mockingly.

To Issei, the comparison was unclear, but he understood...or at least pretended to. Beyond that, there were apperently rumors of Shiva planning to start a new tournament which if Issei had to be the guesser - drove direct inspiration from Indra's hoax.

"Ugh...Can't I go back to cuddling with Ophis-hime and riding around with Brother-Red?"

Suddenly, the door to his room swung shut, blocking out the light from the hall. Issei shot up in his place.

"Wha-Who's there?!"

Vaguely he could make out the outline of a person facing him at the door. Narrowing his eyes at the strange, the Solar God felt a wave of familiarity overcome him. His eyes widened.

'Wait, isn't that-?'

"'Ophis-hime'?"

"W-Whoa!"

Issei jumped back as the figure appeared in front of him, her large breasts shoving themselves perversely in his face. The shape and size of those supple mounds was all too familiar to the Solar God. His gaze travelled up, where his drowsy brown eyes met sparkling grey ones.

"O-Ophis?!"

Issei's shock came less from the fact that his wife had, expectedly, tracked him down like a wolf, and more so that she was currently _grinning _like one. Or moreso, like a snake full of hunger. A certain type of hunger, that involved heaving pink heart-shaped irises.

Before he could question her, Ophis' hands shot like snakes, locking onto his wrists and then pinning him down on the bed. Her naked form began sensually straddling his.

"N-Ngh, O-Ophis...W-What are you-AGH!" Issei let out a gasp as the Dragon God of Infinity shoved her hands into his pants and grasped the contents there. "O-OPHIS?!"

"Selfish little mate. Making all of us worry. Making _me _worry." Ophis hissed seducingly as she nibbed his earlobe. "But this, will be the last time. And from now on, our love will be immortalized."

Issei's mouth rapidly closed and opened like a malfunctioning elevator door. His thought process went completely haywire. His pure virgin mind could not endure the sudden perverseness of the situation. What was happening? Why was this happening? When did Ophis became like this?

"O-Ophis, I don't underst-ah!" an awkward moan left his lips as Ophis began stroking his Solar D.

"Hush now, my dear little mate. I, have taken it upon myself, for both of us, to learn the ageless art of a marriage. I, have Leiko Hyoudou and Azazel to thank for that." then, Ophis gazed directly into his eyes, slightly glaring. Glaring at the faint marks of red on his cheek and nose. "This, is a new body. One, which has been marked by another. I, must do a severe correction of this."

Ophis' hands roamed over his body, stopping at the edge of his shirt. She effortlessly threw it over Issei's head and onto the ground. Without wasting a second, she began fumbling with the belt of his pants.

"O-O-Ophis?!"

But her eyes had already darkened with immense lust. She was drooling, too, and hungrily licking her lips. It was obvious she was acting on pure instinct and the knowledge she'd gathered from Leiko and Azazel. She smirked at Issei, finally pulling down his pants, along with his underwear.

"Now, do as the third aspect of the Infinite Trinity, _and fill my Nothingness with your Infinity~_."

Issei opened his mouth to led out a scared sound, but his lips were captured by Ophis'.

* * *

**Issei's neighbourhood**

One moment, Morisawa was listening to the chirping of birds on his balcony. The next, he thought his hentai tapes had accidenty gone off on their own. It took him only a second to realize, the sounds were coming from next doors.

"AH! AH! AH! AH!..."

"Nh! Ah! Uh! Ah!..."

"AH! AH! S-SOLAR..."

"AH! AH! More!"

"E-AH-MPEROR...SMAAAAAAAAAASHER!"

"AAAHN!"

An explosion of energy burst open a giant crack in the roof of Issei's apartment.

"Jesus Homosexual Christ!" uttered Morisawa after making his recovery.


	4. Chapter 4

**Issei's Apartment, Two weeks after Issei's recovery**

A disgruntled Great Red came round the corner and glared at the two females standing near the furniture.

"YO! Where the hell are my chocolate pancakes? I've been waiting for nearly an hour! Ya know I've got shit to do!"

Leiko Hyoudou, dressed in a baggy yellow t-shirt, a pink apron and tight blue jeans, turned a lid eye towards the grouchy dragon.

"Oh, and what kind of 'shit' does the most ancient, most powerful slacker in the world have to do, I wonder?" she inquired with a disearnest smile, putting a hand on her curvy hip.

"I-! Well, it's...none of your goddamn business!"

"Baka-Red's selling weed again." Ophis casually interlooped, her own toneless gaze and hands staying focused on the utensils laid in front of her.

"You have no evidence!" the male cried in objection. As he said that, Ophis thrust one of her hands in his direction, so Leiko and he could see the bag of weed that materialized in her palm.

"..." Great Red bit his lip and frustratedly snatched the little bag ending it's wild trip into his pocket.

"GAH, AGAIN?!" Leiko Hyoudou groaned and slapped her own forehead. She wished it was the dragon's face she was smacking. "Seriously, this is like the sixth time. Don't you have at least a little bit of dignity?"

"ONE, weed makes good money. Way more than motorcycle races. I use those arseholes' cash to help the homeless, anyways, so it's not like I can make a career from that." Great Red began with a raised finger, emphasising his point. Leiko opened her mouth, but Great Red had already predicted her argument - his mouth opening faster.

"And I know I can cheat my way through this corrupt society but doing it the human way is way more satisfying. And TWO, that's not the only thing I'll be doing today, okay?"

"Is it riding your newest edition motorcycle? Or is it cosplaying as a cute girl?" Leiko asked unironically.

"Okay, frankly, I'm low-key offended."

"And I 'low-key' don't care. You go around all day long, making sluts wet or weebs hard, and when you come back you don't lift a finger to help Issei with the chores! " Leiko retorted harshly before going back to assisting Ophis with the pancakes, noticing the errors she kept making.

Great Red glared at her back in silent ire before ultimately letting it go.

"I'm going to Mount Kailash."

"Isn't that Shiva's place? Why do you wanna go there?"

The Great Red shuffled a little with his foot.

"I've been thinking...about participating in that tournament of his."

That garnered Leiko's attention enough for her to spare him a glance.

"You can't be serious..." she crossed her arms over her chest.

Ophis also turned her head ever so little, though her eyes were still on the pan in her novice hands.

"That, is-"

* * *

**Mount Kailash**

"-the World All-inclusive Anti-Racist Tournament! Or the 'WAART' if you prefer!" said a buoyant green haired boy.

"Yeah, yeah...I already know what your bullshit copy-paste tournament is called, Shiva." Great Red intercepted in a gruff tone. He hadn't come all the way here to be given useless speech. Shiva, for his part, ignored the dragon's mannerism. He was well aware of his visitor's barbaric nature.

"The Solar God and the Vanishing Dragon will be participating. Would I be wrong to presume of that being the reason for your sudden interest in my tournament?" Shiva questioned, smirking in mischief. He put a hand on his chin, studying the dragon's reaction.

"Well, it's mostly because I have nothing better to do, but yeah...that too. Wait...you said it was all-inclusive right?"

"That is correct. However, if you wish to be a part of this event, there will be some limitations you would have to follow."

"Limitations? Of what kind? I can hold back if you want me to."

"No, no...the idea of this tournament is exactly to let everyone go wild for a change. However, you and I both are two of the strongest beings in existence. Those who possess the strength to oppose us are very few." Shiva politely explained. His eyes then flashed open. "But I have found a way to solve that issue."

"And that is?" Great Red asked with a raised eyebrow.

"We will be the final challenge. When only two fighters are left and one of them wins, they will battle me. If they can beat me, then they will face you, the True Red Dragon God Emperor. If they can hold their ground for half an hour, they will be the official winner of the World All-inclusive Anti-Racist Tournament. Their reward shall be three wishes granted by you."

"Hold the fuck on!" the True Dragon exclaimed outraged. "You're telling me I only get to fight one guy...ONE FUCKING GUY! And they don't even have to beat me to 'beat me'! And then I'll have to be granting them wishes for that?!"

Shiva, completely unfazed by the dragon's raised tone, smiled politely at him.

"Yes. That is only fair. After all, even my own vast power can barely compete with yours. Having you fight everyone will be boring."

Perhaps unintentionally, Shiva had managed to struck a nerve. The Great Red glared madly at the Destructor, a vein popping on his forehead.

"You know what?"

"What?"

"FUCK YOU!"

He shoved a middle finger in Shiva's face before taking swift flight out of the palace. Shiva simply summoned a cup of green tea in his hand and took a slow sip.

"Ah...I will have to think of a new prize then. Hmmm..." Shiva put a hand on his chin in a thoughtful manner. A brilliant idea came over him. "Pravati-dear, would you mind offering the winner of the Tournament passage to your nether regions?"

* * *

**Takamagahara**

Issei floated in a meditative position, inches above the flush grounds of his original birthplace. His mother's mansion stuck out in the background, as if though she was caressing his ruffled hair through it.

Yokai of small sizes hopped all over his body, but Issei paid them no mind. In fact, he found their warm presence useful in his concentration. Small waves of wind and lightning sparkles swirled around him as he channeled more of his energy, trying to balance the weight of it. Slowly, ever so slowly...the wind, the lightning, the subtle trembling of the ground began to cea-

"Yo, Hyoudou!"

Issei's focus went astray for a moment and his massive stellar power flared out like a blazing explosion. It burned everything around him, including the little translucent multi-colored creatures. Issei glared at his disturber.

"Vali, do you have to be such a dick?"

"Can't help it. I've got Rizevim's genetics." Vali replied colloquially. He had a slight smirk on his face. It had been after all a long while since his vile grandfather's death, so talking about him was getting easier for the half-devil.

_{I'm guessing the sass is from your mother's side of the family, then.}_

"Probably. Not that I would know given I was rarely allowed to speak to her." Vali said as his eyes turned to the side. His expression sullied a bit.

"Didn't you say she was alive and that you knew where she lived?" Issei inquired. Vali remained still for a slight moment, then his arms found their way comfortably behind his head and he sneered.

"Nah, I think she'd be better of without me reminding her of her torturous life under the abusive heels of my devil relatives. I'm basically a walking talking PTSD for her...and my grandfather. " Vali turned toward Issei "Besides, she's got a new family. A better one. A happier one."

Then the atmosphere went from deep to awkward in a sentence.

"That must give you some sausage then?"

_("...What?")_ Vali and Albion uttered simultaneously, equally stupefied.

"It gives you sausage. It makes you feel at ease." Issei explained naively.

Vali's cheeks reddened a little as he was aware of the other contexts with which the Solar God's words could be taken.

_(Pft...Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!)_

'Oh, very funny, Albion. Laughing at someone's dimness.'

_(It is! It always has and will be!)_

Vali let out a mental groan.

"Hyoudou, it's pronounced 'solace'. And where did you heard this phrase?"

"From Leiko-san. Why?" Issei said, tilting his head. Vali gave him no direct answer. He just looked at him and thought:

'This guy's social intellect is a reflection of anything his cousin does...'

_(Hasn't stopped him from making so many new friends~.)_

'Albion, I'm pretty sure half of-no, scratch that, eighty percent of them just appreciate the fact that they have this powerhouse on their side. The other twenty percent are just creepy old women wanting to sleep with him. You ever wonder why I'm such a loner or why I'm telling Kuroka off everytime she throws herself at me?'

_(Honestly, I always thought it was because you couldn't get hard without someone beating the hell out of you.)_

'Wait, what?'

_(The alternative reason was you secretly being gay for Issei Hyoudou.)_

Issei was a bit bewildered when he saw Vali blushing in rage.

'WHAT?! NO! NO! EW...For fuck's sake, Albion, you know I had a crush on Lavina when I was a kid! And to answer my own goddamn question - it's because I can see through people's bullshit. Hyoudou and his family probably think they're surrounded by friends, which is a huge delusion.'

_(Then why don't you tell him that?)_

'Because...it would kinda break him.'

_(Oh, so you do care.)_

Vali felt enraged once again at his dragon's smugness. He barely held back the bark that threatened to erupt.

'Shut, the fuck up...both of you!'

"Vali, are you alright?"

Issei's simple question brought Vali out of his mental link.

"N-nothing. Just...having a little argument with Albion over here."

"Ok."

"And...yeah, it does relieve me to know she's still out there. Living a life actually worth living." Vali shoved his hands into his pockets. "So anyways, 'nuff about me. How's your family?"

"...The human side or the-"

"I don't really care, though I'm more interested in the Shinto side to be honest."

"Guess I'll start with the human side, then. Mom and Dad on Earth are fine. The planet's still at freezing temperature, some people are still dying of the cold, but it's getting better everyday. Leiko'll be staying at my apartment for a while, at least until things get back to normal."

Issei pouted awkwardly and rubbed his head. His gaze went to the mansion up on the hill.

"Mom's in bed due to mental stress which has taken a toll on her body. Uncle Tsukuyomi's looking after her. Yoru's training going around places with old man Tannin in order to get stronger. I heard he has befriended one of the Leviathans that survived. Grandma Izanami is living with Azazel from now on and Amenominakanushi..."

The expressions on both dragon hosts darkened.

"Issei, you destroyed him." said Vali.

"I destroyed the last bits of his trail, Vali! I never actually sensed his energy." Issei clenched his fists and glared at the ground. "Listen, Vali, I know it may sound like I'm being paranoid and that I sound crazy right now, but I just can't shake the feeling that he is out there. Also training. Also getting stronger."

"That does sound like someone with major PTSD problems would say. The Primordial Entities can just one-shot him for us."

"Vali, the Primordial Entities take no sides. They are completely neutral...well, except for that one time Shinigami-san had three million souls devour Susanoo."

"Eh, big deal. The two of us are powerful enough to deal with him. The most powerful gods are powerful enough to deal with him. Again, he's not much of a threat."

"I guess...But it's not just him that's worrying me. It's all the others like him. Somewhere out there, there's a powerful entity just waiting at the chance to wreak havoc or prove it's superiority over me."

Suddenly, something clicked in Vali's mind like a light switch.

"Wait, don't tell me...That's the reason you opted to join Shiva's tournament!" Vali was shocked by his own realization, "Holy shit, I didn't believe I'd ever say this to you, but that's surprisingly well-thought out!"

"I mean...I'm just trying to learn from past experiences." Issei replied with a shrug. "Uh, Vali?"

The host of Albion was busy hyperventilating while explaining Issei's whole plan out loud for some reason.

'Aaaaand he's gone...Well, I know what'll bring him back.'

"Hey Vali, wanna spar?"

_"FUCK YEAH!"_ he replied like a man who was offered a one-night stand with a goddess.

* * *

**Seals of the Demonic Kusanagi**

Vali's eyes widened in a slight amazement as he once again entered the plane of Issei's mindscape. Some significant changes had certainly occurred since the last time he had been here.

Whereas before the virtual world was a simple blank canvas with marble skyscrapers, now there was a lot more complexity in it. Said complexity being the utmost conflict of the holy energies of the Kusanagi and the sinister attributes of the Demon Swords.

There were wide hurricanes with crackling with lightning bolts, spreading as far as Vali's eyes could see. A mist of darkness, faintly sprouting dark colors from time to time, shrouded the lower regions of Issei's internal space.

"Woah..."

"Odd development here, right?" Issei said with a small smirk.

"I mean, I expected it, but still...Woah." Vali stared at the cloud of darkness grumbling below. "I wouldn't be wrong to say all that murk is coming from the Demon Swords?"

"Yup."

"It sure seems desolate around here...I wonder where Ddraig and the Orochi are?"

"Oh...they're kind of concealing their presence in the depths of my sub-consciousness right now. They've been doing it for a while actually." Issei explained.

"Huh." Vali muttered as his eyes never left the dark murk below. "I'm guessing it's because of the Demon Swords. Also, can we talk about this little quick?"

"This?"

Vali shifted so he was looking at Issei.

"The fusion of the Kusanagi with the Demon Swords."

"To be honest, I didn't really expe-"

"Yeah, I know it was more or less your dragons' decision. You didn't really get a say there. And I'm not saying it was a bad decision, either. I just wanna throw in the fact that you are taking an enormous risk by housing two opposite powers."

"It isn't that bad-"

"Remember what having Ddraig's and Albion's power did to you?"

"...Okay, you're right. But even so, I...believe in my abilities. Just like the Demon Swords did. Just like you do."

From afar, the dark cloud seemed to almost let out a pulse of colors, as if agreeing wordlessly with the Solar God. Vali's expression begged to differ with the Solar God's opinion.

"You're putting my faith in you way higher than it actually is."

"But you always praise my plans..."

"No Hyoudou, I always point out the pros and cons of your plans. And frankly, there are usually more cons than pros. In all honesty, my faith in you goes as far as me expecting you to save my ass whenever I need you."

Issei tilted his head and blinked.

"I feel like I should be finding this offensive...but really, all I can think about is Ophis' breasts."

"Wait, what?"

"N-Nothing!" Issei quickly stuttered out, blushing hard. There were some things he wasn't ready to tell his friend yet. Vali's eyes narrowed at his ashamed posture, quite suspicious. It was as if he was visually telling his rival that 'this conversation was not over'.

"A-anyways...As you saw, I've started meditating a lot lately to quell the side-effects of possessing the Demon Swords. Slashing the Demonic Kusanagi around in tandem with their flashy powers is easier said than done. Not to mention how much Gram and Ddraig nullify each other. It's a pain in the ass to deal with."

Issei said, frowning somewhat as he stretched his wrists.

_(You seemed to be wielding the fused blade's power just fine back in Soku. And you had only just gotten it.)_

"Yeah, I kinda have to thank the UY Scuti star for that...the energy I took from it made for a pretty good substitute."

"So, kinda like how I burn down my magic reserves in order to stay in my Juggernaut Drives for an extended period without having to deplete my lifespan?" Vali put a hand on his chin, thoughtful expression on his face.

"Uh, yeah...something like it. Wait...I...huh? Guess Al's really been rubbing off on me."

"What?"

"Nothing."

An awkward silence ensued which impregnated the scene for a good minute till Vali could take it no more and began a new conversation.

"So remind me again, when was our Tournament of Power? And will it be as pointless as the one in Drag-So Ball Super?"

"Oh, it's tomorrow."

"TOMORROW?! There's barely any time for us to train!" shock and slight despondency appeared on the half-devil's face.

"We don't really have to train that hard, though." Issei pursed his lips and looked down at the palm of his hand, covered in bruises, unhealable completely thanks to his many battles. "We only need to establish some balance in our current strongest forms."

"What do you mean? When it comes to balance, you've practically been exceeding at it."

"Not...quite."

Vali leaned a bit forward, ears perked up.

"...Hyoudou, what are you keeping from me?"

"I...may have obtained a new form recently. But I'm warning you...I'm crazy strong in it and I barely retain any of my sense of self. Last time I transformed, I heard Brother-Red had to personally come and stop me before I did any serious damage. He did look kinda bruised when I woke up."

Immediately, Vali shot up like an erection. His lips started moving frantically, mumbling quiet nonsense that got louder by the second. Issei looked at him in confusion.

"Vali?"

"Gimmie, gimmie, gimmie, gimmie, gimmie, GIMMIE!"

'Ah shit, I broke him agai-agh!'

Issei grunted as Vali landed a solid punch to his gut. The look on Vali's face was not so different than the expressions some of Issei's more vile foes made. It was a look of near-sadistic insanity.

"GIMME NOW!"

Issei's mouth opened wide, wordless, his eyes unable to believe what was happening.

_(I've been telling you kid. Watch what you're saying about your battle power around Vali. It's practically his second trigger button.)_

Issei sighed in exasperation. Then his brows furrowed somewhat.

"Wait, what was the fi-"

He was once again cut-off by another strike from Vali, while he screamed:

"GIMMEEEEEE!"

* * *

Issei and Vali stood across the plane of the former's virtual world, facing each other. Judging from the many burn marks and steam emitting from the ground, the two had been going at it for quite a while. They appeared to be at an impasse, with the Solar God sustaining somewhat more injuries than Vali.

"Heh...heh...You're really tough, Vali…" Issei said in-between pants, appearing a bit proud of his friend.

"Heh...Took the words right from my mouth..." the half-devil smirked, blood dripping from the corners of his lips. "Phew...Discounting Amenominakanushi and Rizevim, I haven't had such a satisfying fight in ages."

"Hah...Glad you're at least enjoying it...Ngh..." Issei grunted slightly as he forced his wounds to close. Vali did the same, though his regeneration was not as efficient.

"So..." the white-haired man began. "I learned something very useful today. Your current base form is on par with my Balance Breaker. Your Evolved Solar transformations are on par with my Juggernaut Drive and Emporio Juggernaut Overdrive forms. And your Morning Star transformation is a bit below my Diablos Dragon Luficer form."

"Hold on, how is that useful? And where the hell did you come up with all those names?" Issei inquired, tilting his head to the side.

"First of all, knowing how powerful you are compared to me at the moment is really important. How am I gonna call myself your rival if I'm falling behind? Also, coming up with obscene names for people's transformations is my specialty."

_(This is going to become an overused gag throughout the story, isn't it?)_

"Uh, hopefully it gets old." Issei muttered.

Vali closed his eyes, inhaling a bit, regathering his strength and halving the stray energies around himself and Issei. Finally, his body began to glow and his eyes opened, glimmering with excitement.

"So, Hyoudou, are you finally going to show me…?" Vali asked with barely concealed eagerness that bordered thirst.

Issei for his part, looked Vali in the eyes, dead serious and concerned...and maybe a little anxious.

"Vali, are you sure? Because I'm warning you, this may be too much for you to handle."

"Trust me, Hyoudou. Whatever you throw at me, I can swallow it."

"No, I mean, there's the possibility that I could literally rip in you half without realizing it." Issei stated.

"Challenge accepted." Vali responded, positioning himself into a proper battle stance.

_(This conversation can't get any gayer, can it?)_

From the uncomfortable silence which the White Dragon Emperor spawned, Issei recovered first.

"Okay, I think I'll just transform now."

"Yeah, that'd be for the best."

…

…

…

**〘RAAAAAAAAH!〙**

"AAAAAAGH!"

_CRACK! BOOM!_

* * *

**Thirty Minutes later**

"O-Oooh…" Vali groaned groggily, his entire body jarring as he shifted in his position, making him grit his teeth and suck in a deep breath. Someone's hands came over to hold him still.

"Vali, do not move a muscle. I still haven't healed your wounds completely."

"H-Hyoudou?" Vali asked, weakly glaring up at his concerned face looming over his. "What the fuck happened? Did I get injected with fifty kinds of narcotics or what? It feels like my body is on fire, except the fire has already burned most of my nerves."

(Thank God. His snark is still intact, which must mean he's fine.)

"I hope so. My healing didn't seem to be doing a lot ten minutes ago."

"Ugh..." Vali finally regained enough of his strength to at least get on his feet, even if his posture remained wobbly. He tilted his head at Issei, who supported his weight with his shoulders. "But seriously, what happened? All I remember is me and Hyoudou preparing to transform into our strongest forms. After that..." Vali made a chilling pause, as his mind struggled to recall the recent events. "I don't know, everything's a blur of black and red."

"Well, to be honest, my memory isn't much different. Though I know exactly what happened." Issei muttered, his face wrinkled with regret, anger and slight shame. He glared at Vali, who was slowly balancing himself up. "Dammit Vali, I told you what risk you were taking! You didn't listen and now looked what happened!"

"Wait...Don't tell me...I got..."

_(Destroyed. You got absolutely annihilated. Issei Hyoudou used as a mop for his skyscrapers. Spoiler alert: Now they're shining with cleanness.)_

"I was gonna say 'caught off guard and promptly overpowered by your raw battle power'."

_(I'm sure even if your guard was up, the kid would just break through it...)_

"Why are you downplaying me like this? Shouldn't you keep me optimistic and appeal to my ego?"

_(I wish I could, but...Ophis almighty. That form of Issei Hyoudou's was probably the fourth being to intimidate me so much. The first being the Omniversal Entity, the second being Trihexa and the third - Samael.)_

Vali stood silent for a few moments, contemplating over what his dragon had just told him. He could barely believe it with his own ears. But sensing the genuine anxiety in Albion's voice, he could not deny it.

He looked at Issei.

"Damn...I don't know if I should be mad at you for beating me into a bloody pulp, angry at the fact that you surpassed me so quickly or relieved, because you can totally handle Amenominakanushi on your own?"

"Yeah, well, you can rant at me once we got to my apartment."

"Wait, why are we suddenly going to your apartment? There's nothing there to do except listen to your amusingly annoying cousin!"

Issei glared at Vali, a chiding look on his face.

"Vali...Leiko-san just worries a lot. She's not annoying. Plus, she never scolds someone longer than thirty minutes. Usually, it ends in about ten minutes."

_(Amenominakanushi! Please return! I suddenly want to listen to your egocentric toxic babbling again!)_

* * *

_**APCHOO!**_

_"What appears to be the issue, Hikari-kun?" _asked a female voice.

Amenominakanushi wiped his nose and sniffed.

_**Nothing...I just got the feeling that someone was discussing me.**_

* * *

"Look, when I lost control, I must've injected some of Orochi-chan's deadly poison into your body."

_(The Orochi's poison?! Is that why I'm seeing cracks appearing all around me?! Fool! Why didn't you tell me earlier!?)_

"I-It went over my head okay! You think between healing Vali and seeing him leaking blood from every part of his body I'd have the insight to sense something like that?!"

"Okay, before ya'all start having panic attacks, can you at least explain what's going on?" Vali asked, clearly annoyed at the tension.

_(Vali, don't you understand!? You're dying slowly as we speak! Your soul is corroding!)_

"This is the poison's effect." Issei added in a calmer yet still uneasy tone. "It latches onto the soul and body of someone and eats them out. I've heard god-class beings can survive its effects. However, I must've used it in tandem with my other powers, making it much more deadly."

"Huh...So that's must be why I'm feeling like a diabetic with rapidly decreasing blood sugar." Vali moaned as his knees threatened to buckle. "Also, does the poison make you enlightened?"

"No, why?"

"Because you sound so much smarter when talking about it." Vali smirked.

"...I'm gonna take you to Brother-Red now. He knows how to fully remove the effect."

"Or I could do like a saiyan instead and get massive nonsensical power boosts due to constantly being on the verge of dying."

_("VALI, THIS IS SERIOUS!")_ Issei and Albion yelled at the same time.

"Okay, okay..."

* * *

"Jesus, what the hell happened to you?!" Leiko asked, her eyes wide and distressed. Ophis and Lilith had gone to tend to a certain something, so the Solar God's cousin was the first face to greet them. She was certainly surprised to see her cousin's friend/self-proclaimed rival in such a pitiful state. "You look like Patrisha after a bad hangover!"

"Then Patrisha must've looked perfectly fine, because that's how I fee-augh, dammit..." Vali winced as his guts wrinkled with pain. He convulsed in Issei's hold of him. Leiko cringed as she watched the scene. "Dammit, this poison won't even let me make my usual snarky remarks!"

"I don't think you're well enough to be making any remarks!" Leiko added scoldfully.

_(He really isn't.)_

"He's dying." Issei tagged on with casualness of a professional doctor listing his hundredth patient with heart problems for the day.

"WHAT?!" Leiko's distraught increased ten folds. Even if she had no love for Vali, she wasn't heartless. "C-Can something be done?! I mean, who do we call to help him?!"

At that exact moment, the Great Red, who had taken upon his girly visage, casually strode in, accompanied by Trihexa.

"Sup. I'm going to give the 666 lesbian sex lessons because mind-fucking all of you is the only thing that can fix my mood right now." the red-haired female blethered quickly, dashing for her room and dragging the poor Apocalypse Beast with her.

"What is that? Lesbian sex?"

"It's like eating an uncut watermelon from the inside..." the Great Red groaned out.

Issei, Vali and Leiko stared at the two most powerful creatures in the Universe. It took the Solar God a second to shake off his confusion.

"Big Bro, wait! You need to help Vali!"

"Why-" she sealed her lips shut when she saw and felt the state of the Vanishing Dragon. She blinked a few times, closed her eyes and let out a long-winded sigh. Then, her golden eyes opened and she scoffed at her brother. "You used the Paradox Dragon Emperor on him, didn't you?"

"I used the Paradox Dragon Emperor on him." Issei repeated, a display of comical confirmation.

"What the heck is that Paradox Dragon Emperor?!" Leiko demanded.

"...What she said..." Vali muttered between coughs.

Great Red let out a second sigh. She folded her sleeves and looked at the awaiting Trihexa.

"You wait for me in the bathroom. Naked." then he turned toward Leiko. "I'll explain later." and finally toward Issei and Vali. "Come to my room."

As Vali was being dragged to the Great Red's room, he asked her one thing.

"Why the Trihexa though?"

"Because fuck you, that's why." the Great Red growled out, ushering Issei and Vali inside.

* * *

Leiko waited in front of the door to that ruffian's room, tapping the floor with her feet impatiently. Finally, after fifteen minutes, Issei and Great Red exited the room, quietly closing the door behind them.

"Is he alright?" she immediately attacked them with a question. The Great Red turned around and looked at her in the eyes, dead serious.

"No, ma'am. He's been diagnosed with the coronavirus."

An awkward silence ensued, only cut by Leiko's unamused glare.

"Has anyone ever told you that your quips just aren't funny?"

The red-haired girl glowered.

"Has anyone ever told you are a humorless bitch?"

"Has anyone ever told you are a massive dick?"

"Has anyone ever told you act like their sixty year old english teacher?"

"Has anyone-"

_{Has anyone ever told you two to keep your goddamn mouths shut for one second so you can stop wasting everybody's time?}_

"...No." the two synced after an embarrassing pause.

'Thanks, Ddraig.'

_{You're welcome, partner.}_

For a whole minute, three occupants just stood there, staring at each other.

"Are you guys going to tell me what's going on or should I go there to ask him myself?"

"And why the hell are you suddenly so concerned about Vali? Like, Vali! VALI! You barely even know the guy!" the Great Red griped.

"He's a friend of Ise-itoko! Naturally, I would care if he is dead or alive!" Leiko retorted back. Issei, ready to blow himself up with a Stellar Bomb, decided to finally intercept their endless argument.

"Vali's doing fine, Leiko-san. We had a little accident while sparring, so Big Bro had to heal him. He's feeling better now, but he'll have to rest for an hour in order to fully recover."

Issei thought that if he explained it in a vague but straightforward way, his cousin would have a better understanding of the situation. His idea worked.

"Okay, thanks Ise-itoko. At least someone here has the sense to answer properly." Leiko said while scowling at the unamused Great Red. She snapped her eyes back at Issei. "Does he need anything? Food? Water?"

"He doesn't really need it, though it's preferable if you do give him some stuff. If he eats and drink, his energy will replenish faster." Great Red added, suddenly solemn-looking.

"Okay. To the kitchen I go. Like every World War II wife..." Leiko mumbled as she went along.

"That girl is so fuckable..." the Great Red muttered as she watched his cousin-in-law go around the corner.

"What?" asked Issei.

"I said your cousin's too gullible."

"O...kay?"

Great Red crossed her arms and frowned at Issei.

"Why did you use that form against him? You know its power practically rivals mine and Cthulhu's."

"Listen, I'm really really sorry for what I did to him, but in my defense, Vali was literally begging me to do it."

"Issei, if your enemy begs you to let them reach full power, would you truly let them do that?"

"Of course I won't."

A vein popped on the dragon's forehead.

"Then WHY THE FUCK did you do this?!"

Issei's gaze fell downwards, as if ashamed to look his brother in the eye.

"But this is Vali...with him it's different."

Great Red threw her arms in the air, groaning inwardly and shaking her head.

"Oh, Issei. You're my Little Bro and I love you, but you're also a huge dumbass."

{I'd argue against that. Letting Vali have a taste of what he asked for is probably the best way to solve the issue. Albion's hosts were never known for being very reasonable.}

"Even so...You promised you would save that form for whenever that Kami bastard reappears." the Great Red nitpicked.

"I said I was sorry, okay?!" Issei raised his voice a little. "I can't promise this won't happen again, but I will try to avoid making the same mistake. And yeah...I'm still saving it for Amenominakanushi."

Issei looked at the Sun from the window, already imagining putting the vile Primordial to justice.

* * *

_**APCHUHOOO!**_

An entire planet was blown away as Amenominakanushi sneezed.

_"..."_

The Progenitor of Shintoism sniffed and glared at vast space around him, as if scolding someone.

_**Why won't people stop talking about me today?**_

_"I feel obliged to not raise a question for your behavior."_


	5. Chapter 5

**Warning:** A ton of fourth-wall breaking for the sake of the story refusing to take itself too seriously, because fanfiction is just that...silly stories written by silly people.

* * *

**Azazel's Mansion**

Azazel sat on the chair in his office room, working with the metallic parts scattered all over his desk, 60 x 30 x 30 inches in size, six polished wooden plates adjoined together to make this one comfortable working space for him.

With a nose scrunched from concentration, Azazel's other hand searched blindly through the box of modernized magical gadgets he had taken out of the shelves. Someone knocked on his door.

"Come in!"

"M-Mister Azazel?"

"Hi, Asia." the fallen angel greeted the blonde girl with a welcoming smile as she entered. "How's my favorite innocent loli doing today?"

"I-I'm fine, though I don't know why you insist on calling me…" she hesitated, her cheeks quite red. "...that."

"Sorry, sorry...I just can't help myself. There are just so many girls of your kind that I've seen in my hentai stash that it honestly feels like I have a whole entire tribe of Asias in my house."

"T-tribe?! O-Oh, dear all-loving God..." the shy girl stumbled back, holding her head as perverse ideas crossed her mind. Her eyes showed black despair at the thought. "I don't know which is worse. The fact that it sounds like an actual hentai series or the prospect of girls like me being included in such a disgusting work?!"

"Don't worry, Asia. Your purity shan't be sullied by degenerate loners with unsatiable libidos." Azazel laughed, reassuringly patting the small sheep, but inside he was quivering.

'Should I tell her about all the 'Asia smuts' on ?' one look at her pure green eyes convinced him not to do it. 'I...don't think she'd take it as well as Akeno.'

"B-By the way, I came under Miss Izanami's request." Asia said, shyly crossing her fingers over the curve of her back.

"Y-Yeah, w-what about that...woman?" instead of 'woman', he was ready to say 'demon'. It was as if Asia's stuttering stupor had been inflicted onto Azazel. The things she did to him that night...not a single part of his body would forget it.

"Um...She said she'll be going to the 'WAART'."

"The What?"

Asia's brief shift in her facial features closely resembled the aforementioned goddess' deadpan.

"The World All-Inclusive Anti-Racist Tournament."

Azazel looked at Asia, then at his desk, then back at Asia. He hummed and rubbed his chin. His eyes flashed and he smiled. Then he groaned and deadpanned.

"...Still got no clue what you're on about."

"F-For God's sake! Shiva's Tournament, Mister Azazel!" Asia shouted, some scoldfulness seeping into the meekness of her voice.

"Aaaah! I just remembered...You're talking about Shiva's Tournament aren't you?"

"..."

"Asia? Asia, why are you looking at me like that? Huh..." Azazel leaned back in his seat and reflected on yesterday's conversation with the goddess. "Yesterday, she said she wants absolutely nothing to do with the other gods. And here she is now, running off to get a front seat. I wonder what, or perhaps who, might've changed her mind. Might have something to do with Kami-musubi...Hmmm."

"Mister Azazel?" asked Asia, as she curiously brushed her fingers over one of the metal pieces. Tiny specks of lightning were allured by the touch of her skin. "What are these?"

Azazel's face immediately displayed slight apprehension at the girl's action.

"Oh, uh, perhaps you shouldn't touch that so carelessly, my dear." he gently grabbed and removed her hands from his working package. "These are fragments of a lifeform which even I am not familiar with. Since it is a lifeform alien to our world, I can't say for sure that the beast couldn't have somehow transferred its consciousness into the body parts that remained intact after its initial destruction. And I certainly don't want anymore Frankesteinish accidents happening in my vicinity. At least not after what happened with our dear Mr. Issei."

"O-Oh...okay." Asia conceded. She did it more so out of her inability to understand half of what her male guardian was saying. "Hey, Mister Azazel, aren't you going to participate in the tournament, too?"

"Pfft, no. You think I'm gonna offer my head to Hades so easily?" Azazel said with a sneer, crossing his arms.

"U-uh...What?"

"Listen, Asia. I am a leader fourth, a scientist third, an otaku second and a giant freaking troll first. And out of all the gods I love to mess with, the gods of the underworld realms are my favorite. A testament to that is my relationship with Izanami-no-Mikoto. You understand what I'm getting at right?"

"I-I do, but...I feel like I should act obnoxious in order to fit my 'shy girl trope'."

"Ah ha ha! Then this conversation never happened for you and you'll be asking me the same questions after a while."

"Probably."

"Also, I'm not gonna watch it either." Azazel added, his hand roaming the shelves of his desk and putting out a book on 'Multiverse Theory'.

"But why? Don't you wanna hang out with Miss Izanami?"

"Ha ha ha...Oh Asia, I think you're getting the wrong messages. And frankly, I don't want to go, because I already know that the winner of the Tournament will either be Issei Hyoudou or Vali...Or maybe that Hollow Knigt fella."

* * *

**Tournament Arena Seating**

"You know either your son or his half-devil friend will probably be the winners of this Tournament, right?" Tsukuyomi asked his sister as he curled the last bits of her hair.

"I know, but is it really such an issue?"

"Well no, but it makes the whole thing kind of pointless. Like going to watch a movie, but already knowing the conclusion. Or racing to win a million yen, when you are a billionaire."

"When did you become so versed in human ethics, Tsukuyomi?" Amaterasu asked with a giggle.

"A god learns a thing or two once they spend two weeks communicating with one who thinks like the mortals. Speaking of which, have you ever actually talked to your son?"

"What do you mean?" Amaterasu's tone gained a stern edge to it, her expression sharpening into a scoff.

"Nothing."

Finally, Tsukuyomi decided to spice it up with a bit of godly magic. He snapped his fingers, adding a moonlight sparkling effect to her smooth hair.

"All done."

He turned her wheelchair around so they were face-to-face. Tsukuyomi blushed at his own handiwork. His ogling expression did not go unnoticed by Amaterasu. She huffed.

"Is there something on my face?"

"Wha-U-Uh no...No." Tsukuyomi answered awkwardly, having been caught a bit off guard. Amaterasu immediately saw through him.

"You're not fooling me with that tomato-red face of yours, Tsukuyomi. Just say it: You think I'm 'breathtaking'. You wish to lay with me."

All the embarrassment on the Moon God's face was replaced with a cool sneer, which he forced into a faux smile.

"Yes, Amaterasu, you're just like the Sun..."

"Oh...You're-"

"My eyes hurt the longer I stare at you..."

"-such an impudent cretin!"

"That really is no way to talk to your ex-wife, Father of Yoru."

Both gods turned their attention toward the source of the third voice. A brawny man with dark violet hair and red eyes stood at the threshold of their balcony.

"I at least treat mine with the respect she deserves. And she is nowhere near as kind and lovable as Lady Amaterasu." he smiled, leaning his head down and giving Amaterasu's hand a kiss.

"Oh my, what a gentleman~." the Sun Goddess smiled brightly, her eyes lidding almost seductively at the newcomer.

"You think you're being slick, bastard?" Tsukuyomi mumbled through a half-opened mouth, a vein popping on his forehead.

His expression remained neutral, though on the inside the Moon God was screenwriting a 'Fifty Shades of Death' movie with him and the other guy as the main characters.

"Since I for some reason am the only Dragon King that rarely uses his human form, you may not recognize me, but I am-"

"Hello, Tanin."

"Good to see you, Dragon King Tanin."

Tanin gaped at the abrupt way he was cut-off by the deities. He was shocked that they had guessed correctly.

"The 'Dragon King' bit plus the purple hair spelled it out for us." Tsukuyomi explained in a rather distant tone.

"O-Okay...Anyhow, I came to tell you, Tsukuyomi, that your son will not only NOT disappoint, but he will also exceed your expectations."

"I hope so, though I do not expect him to beat my detestable nephew."

"Maybe not." Tanin began with a proud smirk on his face. "But he'll still put one hell of a fight before he goes down. I'm certain of it."

"I ho-...I know he will." Tsukuyomi said, reluctantly matching Tanin's smirk.

"Speaking of Yoru, did he not come with you?" Amaterasu thought, curiously overlooking Tanin's figure.

"Oh no...He opted to stay in Purgatory to train before the Tournament begins." Tanin explained, a sudden aura of bashfulness overtaking him.

Tsukuyomi raised a brow.

"If he gets here late, he might get disqualified." he sighed. "What kind of 'last minute training' is he doing, anyways?"

"Well, umm..."

* * *

**Purgatory**

A white-haired beauty strode the around the area of her home, overlooking a misty lake. This was the Beta Leviathan, or the last remaining Leviathan, post-Indra. Her peaceful walk was cut short by overlapping screams, coming from the cave where her leader usually resided.

**"AH! AH! AH! YES! AH!"**

"Ngh! Ah! Shit! Agh! Ugh!"

**"AH! AH! Harder!"**

And he went harder.

**"Better!"**

And he did it better.

**"Faster!"**

And he increased his pace ten times over.

**"STRONGER!"**

The whole cave shook with his aura.

**"AH-AAHN! Y-YES! GIVE IT TO ME! YOUR LUNAR ESSENCE! ALL OF IT!"**

"Ah! Ngh! Ah! Ah! Eclipsing...MOONBEAM!"

**"AAAAAAAHN!"**

A large explosion blasted through the entrance of the cave.

* * *

**Tournament Arena Seatings**

"...A special kind." Tanin meekly said after a long pause.

Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu narrowed their eyes at the shamefaced Dragon King. Before the could further question him, two powerful presences manifested near their location.

"?!"

Amaterasu gasped and gripped her head. Tsukuyomi worriedly came to her aid, resting his hand behind her head, caressing her gently and performing stress-relieving magic on her mind.

"Ama, it's ok, it's ok..." he repeated the two locutions several times in a low soothing tone. "~~_Little red dragonfly. Resting, waiting. On the end of a bamboo pole_~~-"

"TSUKUYOMI!" Amaterasu shouted scoldingly, blushing, while still wincing from the throbs of pain in her head.

"What? You love it when I sing you the 'Red Dragonfly'! It improves the quality of your sleep."

Amaterasu's hand shot up, latching onto her brother's jawline and trapping his mouth in the palm of her hand.

"Are you alright, Lady Amaterasu?" Tanin asked after a brief pause caused by his confusion, and hidden amusement, at the deities' banter.

"I'm fine, you needn't worry much about me..." the Sun Goddess groaned out, pushing Tsukuyomi's head away, shaking off the buzzing in her head. "It's just..._that woman_ has appeared somewhere near our place of stay."

"Who is that woman whose presence disturbs you so?"

Tsukuyomi's eyes rolled at the Dragon King's display of gentleman concern as he rubbed his jawline once.

"I...do not really wish to invoke her name. The mere mention of her brings forth many bad thoughts and memories." Amaterasu explained, a frantic timidness slowly cracking through her expression.

"In mortal words: That's our cue to leave. I feel like she may enter conveniently soon enough and cause Amaterasu's insanity to awaken."

"Do not call it insanity! I am merely concerned for my well-being." Amaterasu chided the Moon God. She bit her lip, her eyes glimmering with nervousness, shooting piercing gazes at the other dwellers. "You don't know what that hag is capable of."

"...You do know that I...visit her quite often, right? Granted, our conversations aren't really anything speci-"

"YOU'VE ENCOUNTERED THAT DEMON?!"

"Yes? She's living with Azazel so it isn't hard to find her. Look, we already talked about this two weeks ago, remember?"

"NO! How- W-Why - Why is she on Earth? We have to send someone to capture her and-and-"

Amaterasu started sweating, her breathing pace slightly contorting into hyperventilation.

"Ok, I think your Paranoid personality disorder just kicked in, so I will waste no time in taking you to the hot springs."

Amaterasu's irrational gaze of fright and anxiety seemed to be soothed a little at the mention of hot springs and the implication of bathing in one.

"T-There are hot springs here?"

"Yes."

"From what I've heard, this arena has everything." Tanin added from the side, still filled with confusion by the Sun Goddess' erratic behavior.

"T-Then yes...that may cleanse the black thoughts plaguing me right now..."

Amaterasu nodded at her silver-haired counterpart, signaling him to go. Tsukuyomi began to push Amaterasu toward the door. Just then, three newcomers conveniently came in.

The first to enter was Bishamonten, the God of Luck and Battles. A rough man, with a big black beard, thick brows and wise gaze.

Floating right next to him was Amenominakanushi's compeer - Kami-musubi, still dressed in her revealing kimono. Her powerful aura made Tanin and Tsukuyomi recoil slightly.

Amaterasu went pale when she saw Izanami-no-Mikoto herself walk in. She was dressed pretty casually. Bright yellow long-sleeved shirt with brown jeans and black boots, and a pink scarf wrapped around her neck.

"Oh...shit…"

"Good day to you as well, Tsukuyomi." Izanami greeted with a bored expression, finding his choice of words unamusing. Slowly and uncertainly, her gaze went over to the Sun Goddess. "And to you..._Amaterasu_."

Amaterasu blenched as Izanami took a step forward. Izanami paused and Amaterasu seemed to relax. Then, the elder goddess took one more step and the disabled goddess tensed once again.

"Aah~, awkward family reunions are such an amusement to watch." Kami-musubi cooed teasingly. "Don't you agree, Bishamonten?"

"Ah? Oh, apologies, Lady Musubi, I was just busy watching those beautiful, sexy, defined plates. Celestial marble truly is the best material to build an arena for a tournament of such wild variety of participants..."

"Ah, understandable. Everyone is with their own weird fetishes, after all. I prefer females, Amenominakanushi loves S&M and Izanami enjoys anal."

"I DO NOT!" Izanami shouted in protest.

"This book says different things, sweetheart." Kami-musubi said with a teasing smirk, summoning Azazel's lewd Izanami-no-Mikoto doujinshi.

"Give me that!"

Izanami tried to grab it, but the comic disappeared into thin air, returning to its point of origin. Kami-musubi let out a mirthful giggle.

Tsukuyomi and Tanin shared a look of utter bewilderment. Amaterasu meanwhile was still locked in her appalled, shivering paralysis.

"Okay...I'm not sure what I expected when I heard one of the five Founders would be visiting us soon enough, but it certainly wasn't this." Tsukuyomi stated.

"Pay me no heed. I am but a fifteen billion years old hack. I do have to keep myself constantly amused, otherwise I fear I might end up just like Amenominakanushi or Takami-musubi!"

"...She has a point." Tanin commented with a shrug after a contemplative pause.

"Sure, whatever." Tsukuyomi said as he pushed Amaterasu's wheelchair. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get my sister away from our aunt, before she's lost her sanity."

"Mother!" Izanami corrected as the twin deities passed by. "I explicitly asked that you call me 'Mother'!"

"YOU ARE NOT OUR MOTHER, YOU DISGUSTING WORM-SUCKING DISEASE-BRINGING MONSTER!"

Amaterasu, out of nowhere, yeeted herself out of her wheelchair. Due to her strained body, she fell down on the ground and began to claw at the floor, as if making a desperate attempt to tear the older Shinto Goddess in half.

"Sister, restrain yourself!" Tsukuyomi bawled, pulling her back by the shoulders, but to no avail. The other occupants watched stupefied, as the usually kind-looking Amaterasu thrashed and cursed like a banshee.

"DAMN YOU! HOW CAN YOU CALL HIM 'GRANDSON' AFTER MAKING HIS LIFE A LIVING HELL! HOW ARE YOU ALLOWED TO WALK FREELY AFTER WHAT YOU HAVE DONE! JUST GO BACK TO YOMI, YOU VILE WHO-!"

RUMBLE!

Everyone let out a shocked breath as the Moon God grabbed his sister's head and dunk-slammed her into the ground. The floor received no shortage of damage.

"Holy shit!" Tanin exclaimed.

"Such brutality..." Bishamonten added. "He's going to get sued for this by the SJWs for sure."

"They are a joke, so I doubt he will be troubled by them."

Tsukuyomi loomed over his sister's unconscious body for a moment. Then, he leaned back and sat on his knees, revealing a relieved smile was on his face.

"Thank God for my son Yoru, the best psychotherapist alive."

* * *

**Arena Lobby B**

"Hey, look at that guy his head looks like a pe-"

"George, I swear to God, if you don't stop commenting on others' unique appearances, I will let them have turns fisting you till your ass bleeds out."

"A peanut."

"What?"

"His head looks like a peanut."

Unfortunately, the god with the peanut-shaped head heard the insulting comment and promptly punished the Hero Faction members for it, striking them with massive waves of lightning.

"..." Cao Cao shook, trying to hide his anger.

...

"AAAAAAAH!"

It didn't take long before George was sent flying across the whole lobby, finally crashing near a familiar pair.

"Hi, George." Issei greeted with a convivial expression.

"Jesus, the Tournament hasn't even started and you're already getting owned." Vali muttered, as his rival helped the magician get on his feet and dust himself off.

"Thanks, Issei, for being the only nice guy here."

"Don't hit on the Solar God, magician. Hyoudou has enough women in his life already."

"Okay Vali, I think that's enough. I know you're not on good terms with Cao Cao's team due to the Indra-incident, but you gotta let it go. You know, just like your family."

"And just like Amenominakanushi?"

Issei became unnervingly quiet, making George break a sweat of anxiety.

'Oh fuck...he should not have said that!'

…

"NNNNGH!"

The air of the lobby rippled as Vali unwillingly made a fast and painful flight across the whole building, landing at the other side of it, near a particular group.

"Bonjour, Vali Lucifer!" greeted Jeanne's descendant in her native language.

"Is there some kind of trading game that I'm not aware of?" the descendant of Lu Bu inquired with unmindfully furrowed brows.

"Greetings Vali. How's that inflated ego of yours doing? Heard it was left a bit damaged after what Issei Hyoudou did to you." Cao Cao said with a reserved mocking smirk.

Vali gave him a silent glare as he got up. He pointed at the right side of the human's head.

"You said Hyoudou fixed your eye, right?"

"Yeah. Look, I know you're about to-"

"Well, he'll be fixing two eyes real soon."

"...I'm glad you're alright, Vali. Even if I say that half-sarcastically."

"Thanks, you're a nice guy, too. Even if i say that full-sarcastically."

Leonardo let out his usual grunts of exasperation. Jeanne stepped in-between the two hostile snark demons.

"Messieurs, ne vous battez pas! Le tournoi est sur le point de commencer!" she pleaded, putting up her hands.

"The hell did she say to me?" Vali asked, suddenly feeling immensely peeved for an unknown to him reason.

"She just wants us to stop arguing. Also, the Tournament is about to start...Wait, the Tournament is about to start?!"

Cao Cao and Vali turned their heads towards the hologramish screens displayed on the walls of the lobby.

"Yup. Shiva and the other organizers are going to make their big announcement in five minutes. Oh, make that four now." Vali stated as he read through the information shown on the holograms.

"Well, we better go to the participants' waiting room then."

* * *

**Announcers' Balcony**

Shiva could be seen arguing with his wife as he was making some last minute arrangements. Due to the Destructor's adolescent appearance and his height being a few inches below Pravati's, the scene was quite hilarious to the rest of the organizers watching from their seats.

"Shiva, I'm not going to give the winner 'the biggest blowjob of their puny lives'!"

"And why not? We both know the beings who are most likely to win this are Issei Hyoudou, Vali Lucifer, The Abyss Watcher or Sirzechs! They're all fine gentlemen...mayhaps with the exception of the Abyss Watcher. That character is a bit of a workaholic creep."

"The answer is still a solid NO! Dear, I say this as respectively as possible at the moment, you are acting like a dimwit buffoon. Surely, there are other gifts you can offer the winner."

"But you are the best gift I could give them!"

"That is..." Pravati paused, a blush and a happy smile appearing on her beautiful face. "That is very sweet of you, my love. Shiva, I love only you"

"Oh, my dear Pravati, I love you more than anything in this world! How could I be such a fool, to offer my most precious jewel to a stranger?!"

"I forgive you Shiva, though your heartfelt confession has set my lower regions aching for your touch."

"Then let us fuck!"

"In front of everyone?!"

"In front of everyone!"

Pravati let out a squeal and immediately pounced on her husband, capturing his lips in a passionate kiss. Their hands roamed across the lines of their bodies and it didn't take long before they began to undress each other.

The other organizers averted their gazes back to the stadium, blushes on their cheeks.

"Ugh...Get a room you two!" Tiamat shouted over her chair. A wanton moan from Pravati was the only answer she got, prompting the female Dragon King to slump further into her seat.

"Well...their love is said to be the purest, so I guess that also means public sex doesn't bother them."

"In any case, we should probably begin the introductions, because everyone has already arrived." Ajuka said, looking over the filled seatings.

"Since Lord Shiva is-ehem-busy at the moment, may you do the honors, Ajuka?"

"Nothing I haven't done, so yeah...I will do it."

"Barrek, _what the fuck_, are you jerking off to them?!" screeched a horrified Tiamat. Ajuka's hands quickly worked their magic, covering his surroundings with illusions. From the perspective of onlookers, everything would appear perfectly normal.

He coughed and raised from his seat. He fired a blast in the air, garnering everyone's attention. As he began to speak, his voice echoed through the holograms scattered around the whole arena.

_﹝Ladies, gentlemen and creatures with undefinable characteristics, thank you for gathering here today, for it is for your amusement and-or curiosity that the mighty Lord Shiva of the Hindus made this stadium that you are all sitting in right now. It might come as no surprise that he chose to place it in the Dimensional Gap, as the destruction of Svargam had some detrimental effects on his faction. Even though Issei Hyoudou was the initial destructor of that realm, let's just pretend it was Indra's fault in order not to paint the protagonist in a bad light! Now that we got that out of the way...﹞_

Ajuka made an intentionally dramatic pause, then flashed a reserved smile and spread his arms wide.

_﹝I happily announce the beginning of the first world-wide Tournament games!﹞_

The general audience of non-humans remained silent, makinig Ajuka's brows furrow deeply.

"Hey, isn't this the part where we have to clap?" one of them shouted and they immediately exploded into ingenuine claps and cheers.

_﹝Thank you, people. At least now I can be assured that three fourths of you are ignorant jerks.﹞_

The cheers became louder. It was like everyone briefly lost their sanity. After said sanity recovered, Ajuka continued with his introduction.

_﹝Now, to explain the slightly convoluted stages of the tournament. There are a total set of three stages which would span over the reasonable period of three days. Compared to some human olympic games, that's like your backyard game of dodgeball.﹞_

Some attendants laughed, while others remained awkwardly silent.

_﹝The first stage will be the Preliminary Eliminations. The total number of official participants is well over a thousand. The first stage will axe out the numbers to make them more manageable in the next two stages. All twelve hundred fighters will fight to retain their participant status. They will be divided into groups of two hundred. Each group will be relocated to a seperate pocket dimension. Vishnu and Brahma will keep an eye on the dimensions' stability. During this stage, fighters will have to choose their allies as the winners will be the last ten remaining teams. The next stage is team vs team. Pretty obvious, no need for explanation. The third and final stage will resemble Indra's Tournament, consisting of mostly one-on-one battles, though tag teams are acceptable. The one who persists through all three stages of the tournament will fight Lord Shiva for...uuuh...okay, we actually haven't yet decided what will be the ultimate reward, but I think having the chance to beat one of the strongest beings in existence is enough of a good reason for the fighters. ﹞_

…

"Wait, you didn't say anything about the rules!" a goddess yelled from her seat.

_﹝Oh, uh...yes, thank you, young lady. I will look into it right now.﹞_

Ajuka leaned back, turning towards Tiamat.

"Where is the rulebook for the tournament?"

The Chaos Karma Dragon adopted a perplexed expression and then her memory lit up.

"Shiva said we just need to think about it and the information will course into our brains automatically."

"Okay, I'm definitely going to lay a detailed research on that once the Tournament is over. "

Ajuka did as Tiamat told him. After a minute of silence, his eyes flashed open with...confusion?

_﹝Uhm...Apparently, there are no rules. Only killing and outside help during the matches is forbidden. Oh, and also shaming someone into giving you the victory is not allowed, too.﹞_

One third of the female spectators wailed in despair. Their feminist stars would now stand no chance.

_﹝The participants may now enter the arena! And please, be patient whilst going in. This isn't America's Black Friday!﹞_

Ajuka let out a sigh, slumping into his seat and slackening his posture, just like Tiamat.

"That went moderately well..." he said.

"Could've been worse..." Tiamat voiced tepidly. Her face reddened with anger and embarrassment as the wet sounds of a man beating his meat overlapping with the sexual noises of Shiva and Parvati's intense love-making resounded. "For fuck's sake,WOULD YOU PEOPLE STOP FUCKING AND FAPPING IN HERE?!"

* * *

**Arena Lobby C**

As the beings of the Supernatural World strode along, searching for their rows and seat numbers, a single shade-like being stood still, monitoring everything, listening to what was being broadcasted.

It had only two wide flashing orbs for eyes and no mouth. The shade was shaped like an extremely voluptuous woman of unrivaled curves, but no more details than that could be found.

_'Hikari-kun, the tournament shall commence at a minute's notice.'_

The other side did not reply. The being waited patiently for two minutes.

_'Hikari-kun?'_

_**'Shut up! I'm busy at the moment!'**_

_'With what?'_

_**'Keh heh heh...Making some special arrangements.'**_


	6. Chapter 6

All the main characters, main antagonists and best supporting characters were gathered around a fire, a safe five feet distance apart from each other so that they were neither gay nor infected with the ungodly Wuhan coronavirus. Suddenly, Vali chuckled.

"Heh..."

"What's up, Vali?" his rival-best buddy, Issei, asked him curiously.

Then, the Great Red started laughing, too.

"Heh heh heh heh..."

"Bro?"

Even the usually monotone Ouruboros chuckled.

"Hmh..."

Another laughter, this time from Tsukuyomi, which was followed by his son, which was carried on to Izanami and Amenominakanushi. Only the Darkness incarnated, Amatsu-Mikaboshi, remained just as confused as Issei was.

"Heh heh heh heh!"

"Hah hah hah hah...!"

"Uhm...heh...am I missing a subtle joke here?"

_"I...would also...like...to know."_

At that, everyone abruptly stopped their laughing and chuckling to look at the two incredously. Amenominakanushi had a particularly scary scoff on his face, that was further intensified by his monstrous appearance.

_**It is April...fools! **_

The whole room exploded once again with laughter.

"HAHAHAHAHAH! APRIL...FOOLS-PFFT-AHAHAHAHA...!"

_**BAH HAH HAH HAH HAH...!**_

The Above suddenly flew into the room, scribbling some words through the layers of space-time.

_'Happy April Fools Day!'_


End file.
